Voice in the Attic – “Warts & All” – maximum emotional impact
I discovered BC Bogey aka Voice in the Attic during 2015, listening to the single “Over”, and fell in love with this project instantly. BC Bogey is a critically acclaimed songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, award-winning music video director and classically trained singer, who works with Grammy-winning musicians and sound engineers from Europe and the USA. The way he can easily glide through the organic chill of some songs, into the homey, campfire-like tunes, then to the fully fleshed-out modern twist of others, will always surprise me. He puts so much effort into the music and the lyrics, it’s always worth supporting him. His music is gorgeous and it gives a warm, upfront feeling with his deep, dominant voice set center-stage for maximum emotional impact.
The melodies on his brand new album, entitled “Warts & All”, are inebriating, the lyrics interesting and evocative – the production strong and full. Musically he is writing with a broader palette than his beginnings, with expansive and fuller visions where there was once only a voice accompanied by guitar and little else. In every way I believe this to be his strongest record thus far.
Yet having said that, this album is still as acoustic and as live as it gets with studio productions. “What you hear is just how we decided to track the sounds, the cellist, the bassist, the drummer, the backing vocalist and I made, warts and all,” states BC Bogey.
It’s definitely a step away from Voice in the Attic first album, but the artistic integrity and spirit are still deep-seeded in this record. It does all the things that you expect or want it to do. I’ve owned this album for a week or so, and I’m already obsessed. BC Bogey and his crew of highly talented musicians make such alluring music, all in a matter of 9 tracks.
I hate putting labels on music, and labelling this album can be a daunting task, but my personal filing tags says Cinematic Indie-Folk. Though it only just begins to describe “Warts & All”. Sheer awesome, is how you describe the opening track “Somehow”.
It takes only one listening for it to worm its way into your DNA: “Take me to the here/Take me to the now/I’m always somewhere else/In my mind somehow,” sees the writer affront the theme of ‘being in the moment’. A difficult status for cyber addicts to achieve. “Listen”, addresses a similar theme that plagues modern society – ‘paying attention and attempting to grab attention’.
By the time you encounter the third track, “Thought” – the first single off the album, you would have realized that this is manifestly the work of an awakening giant. It is, in essence, a tone, a mood, a universe that you’ll want to return to again and again. The following song, “Somehow”, is different to the opening track. Though sharing some chords and words, it is more wistful and melancholic in nature.
The poignant instrumental “Up”, leads you to “Blind”. Few songs have captured as much contrasting beauty, as BC Bogey’s crystal clear vocals and eloquently picked acoustic guitar leads the emotional charges of a breakup, pinpointing how the meaning of words change according to their context.
The video for the second single taken from the album, “Biz”, has garnered awards and nominations from international film festivals, which testifies to its powerful narrative and vivid imagery. Another instrumental, titled “Unknown”, takes you to the final track, “Maybe” which investigates where the future will lead us, and the part we play in that process.
It’s also interesting to know that these songs were constructed in various countries around the world, including Australia, England, Germany, Thailand and the US. The album was written, recorded, arranged, edited and produced by BC Bogey. Mixing was done by Craig Durrance, while the mastering was executed by Bernie Grundman at BG Mastering, Hollywood, CA.
Take your time with this music, it is not a quick fix to simply fill the empty void in your head – rather, toward the right listeners, it will resonate and reflect something profound, and unique to each individual set of ears.
In a nutshell, “Warts & All” is a great and captivating collection of songs that use organic instrumentation, simple melody and rhythm, as well as thought-provoking narratives, together with vocals that are more instrumental than anything else in painting a plethora of absorbing musical landscapes.
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