Myke Clements:“The Redwoods” writing is interminably brilliant!
Myke Clements is a sensitive singer-songwriter in the way that James Taylor is, appealing to the anxious those learning how to navigate the sometimes treacherous waters of life, love and beyond. The difference is Myke’s folk sound is connected to punk and emo flavors. Yet it does not disregard such niceties as melody, hooks, subtlety, and craft, and still manages to favor raw unfettered expression of emotion. But where other punk-emo bands get caught in the Sturm und Drang by bittersweetly concentrating on matters of the heart, Myke Clements has a wider appeal, not least because he is not so damn noisy as his punk-emo brethren. Prior to this track, Myke Clements had released an album of instrumentals, entitled “No Worry, No Sorrow”.
Here, he dives in at the deep end and draws hooks out of this song as well as give color to his sound. This means “The Redwoods” is the most musical release and easily the most accessible, record in Clement‘s canon, a record that doesn’t push its emotion to the front, preferring to draw the listener in gradually, as he beckons: “Come away with me to the redwoods / We can drive up the coast this time / Let’s get lost up in the redwoods / See what adventure we can find.”
This is a notable improvement, at least in terms of general listenability, and it doesn’t remove the fact that Myke‘s writing is interminably brilliant. He’s now writing more memorable songs, largely because he’s exploring how to incorporate hooks and vocal melodies, and the incessant need to artfully spill the contents of his heart widens his appeal.
“In November of 2016 I was laid off from my Job,” explains Myke Clements. “I was lost and pretty disoriented, so I did what artists do, and started creating. This track (The Redwoods) is the first single of the album that came out of that time. The Redwoods, was inspired by a family trip out to Muir beach California, and the wonderful time we had there.
I had high hopes for this track, as I already know Myke Clement’s work, and I was not let down. It has been some time since someone has given us a poetic lyrical piece that looks at life by way of a pleasant melody sung by a sublime singer-songwriter. “The Redwoods” is another acknowledgement of the blessings Clement has received and that has enabled him to live and survive life, despite its challenges and human frailties.
You can always relate to Myke’s work on a descriptive intellectual level, in other words an exact and true understanding of the meaning of his words, and almost always relate to it on a more abstract spiritual and emotive level.
