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I guess I'll have to take the advice of a friend and go ahead and start calling this feature myspace music monday. I have yet to feature an actual "band" yet, and this week is no difference. Say hello to Thomas Dybdahl!
Thomas Dybdahl
Looks can be deceiving. Despite the fact that Thomas Dybdahl's myspace page only has about 2,600 hits, and even though he only has 24 friends....wait, I thought it was weird that an established artist would have so little friends, songs, and a crappy myspace profile that was decorated by one of those myspace profile editors. Crap!
What just happened is that while typing that sentence, I did a myspace search for Thomas Dybdahl and found that he has a real myspace page with 124,000 hits. That makes more sense. And while this is usually too high-profile for myspace band monday, I've already dedicated this post to Thomas Dybdahl, and I think you may actually like him. So here it goes...
Music
If Bonnie "Prince" Billy were on a major record label, he may sound a lot like this. Despite being from Norway, Thomas' music has a pretty distinct country flare to it at times. This is never more notable than it is on "Be A Part," the first song featured on his myspace page. Thomas's voice is pretty decent here, often singing barely above a whisper over female backup vocals and lap steels. He goes in and out of a soulful croon throughout the song, while still barely being heard and it sounds fairly cool. It makes the song that much more chill and relaxing. It's a good listen, and I can't help but think that fans of John Mayer would find something to enjoy here.
On "Always" Thomas' voice is so low it sounds almost inhuman, like it's pitch-shifted down an octave or two. Hell, I'm not entirely convinced that it isn't. He softly sings, "I had to fend for myself cause no one else was gonna help," under sweeping strings and unobtrusive drums and guitars. In fact, I think one of the best ways to describe Thomas' music is "unobtrusive." It's all very soothing and faint, like it barely exists. I really do dig it. This song and the one that precedes it are both featured on Dybdahl's first major record release, Science.
"A Love Story" comes from another Dybdahl album, One Day You'll Dance for Me, New York City (Maybe that day is today, as he's playing in NYC tonight). Again, this song is very relaxing, and Thomas' vocals are still kind of mesmerizing. His lyrics here are pretty awesome too. He sings, "when life was once too short for all the things we`d do and the shots we`d call / and endless summer without a fall / when promises were meant to keep and nighttime wasn`t meant for sleep / a love story at it`s peak" and I get a pretty clear picture of what he's talking about. It's my second favorite song on his myspace page.
My first favorite is "From Grace," the first song I heard from his fake myspace page. If you can, listen to this song first, and maybe you'll understand why I decided to do this week's mbm on him. This is Thomas pre-major record label, and it has a much more indie sound to it. He finally comes out of his shell too, often singing falsetto over his own backup harmonies and never regressing into the low, barely audible whispers that has categorized his music up to this point. I really do like this song, and I think that you should stop reading right now and go check it out. It is beautiful.
Verdict
I dig it. It's clear to me that his older stuff might appeal to me more, so I can't fully recommend going out and buying Science. Just from what I've heard. I can say, however, that Thomas Dybdahl is a really talented guy who fully deserves to be signed to a major record label like Universal (unlike so many other artists). If you're a fan of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, John Mayer, or Jose Gonzalez, then I recommend that you check this guy out. I've provided some links and a video below that should help you on your journey. Enjoy!
Links
Thomas Dybdahl's myspace Page
The Official Site
Buy Science on Amazon.com
What just happened is that while typing that sentence, I did a myspace search for Thomas Dybdahl and found that he has a real myspace page with 124,000 hits. That makes more sense. And while this is usually too high-profile for myspace band monday, I've already dedicated this post to Thomas Dybdahl, and I think you may actually like him. So here it goes...
MusicIf Bonnie "Prince" Billy were on a major record label, he may sound a lot like this. Despite being from Norway, Thomas' music has a pretty distinct country flare to it at times. This is never more notable than it is on "Be A Part," the first song featured on his myspace page. Thomas's voice is pretty decent here, often singing barely above a whisper over female backup vocals and lap steels. He goes in and out of a soulful croon throughout the song, while still barely being heard and it sounds fairly cool. It makes the song that much more chill and relaxing. It's a good listen, and I can't help but think that fans of John Mayer would find something to enjoy here.
On "Always" Thomas' voice is so low it sounds almost inhuman, like it's pitch-shifted down an octave or two. Hell, I'm not entirely convinced that it isn't. He softly sings, "I had to fend for myself cause no one else was gonna help," under sweeping strings and unobtrusive drums and guitars. In fact, I think one of the best ways to describe Thomas' music is "unobtrusive." It's all very soothing and faint, like it barely exists. I really do dig it. This song and the one that precedes it are both featured on Dybdahl's first major record release, Science.
"A Love Story" comes from another Dybdahl album, One Day You'll Dance for Me, New York City (Maybe that day is today, as he's playing in NYC tonight). Again, this song is very relaxing, and Thomas' vocals are still kind of mesmerizing. His lyrics here are pretty awesome too. He sings, "when life was once too short for all the things we`d do and the shots we`d call / and endless summer without a fall / when promises were meant to keep and nighttime wasn`t meant for sleep / a love story at it`s peak" and I get a pretty clear picture of what he's talking about. It's my second favorite song on his myspace page.
My first favorite is "From Grace," the first song I heard from his fake myspace page. If you can, listen to this song first, and maybe you'll understand why I decided to do this week's mbm on him. This is Thomas pre-major record label, and it has a much more indie sound to it. He finally comes out of his shell too, often singing falsetto over his own backup harmonies and never regressing into the low, barely audible whispers that has categorized his music up to this point. I really do like this song, and I think that you should stop reading right now and go check it out. It is beautiful.
VerdictI dig it. It's clear to me that his older stuff might appeal to me more, so I can't fully recommend going out and buying Science. Just from what I've heard. I can say, however, that Thomas Dybdahl is a really talented guy who fully deserves to be signed to a major record label like Universal (unlike so many other artists). If you're a fan of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, John Mayer, or Jose Gonzalez, then I recommend that you check this guy out. I've provided some links and a video below that should help you on your journey. Enjoy!
Links
Thomas Dybdahl's myspace Page
The Official Site
Buy Science on Amazon.com
"Dice" by Thomas Dybdahl, from the album Science.
Do you have a band in mind for myspace band monday? Send us a tip at audiooverflow@gmail.com or by leaving a comment in this post. See you next week!
All Thomas Dybdahl photos provided via myspace.com.
1 comment:
ha
i came across his myspace this morning(the real one fortunately) and was instantly captured by "from grace"
browsed him and found your blog
like the review =)
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