Chris Garneau: Music For Tourists

The Indie Review

By Sean Duregger
May 29, 2008

Artist: Chris Garneau
Album: Music For Tourists
Label: Absolutely Kosher

Rating:

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Many singer/songwriters are hit or miss, and I feel like I’m not seeing eye to eye with a lot of my trendier friends. Sufjan Stevens is great, but get’s a bit boring for me. Damien Jurado doesn’t get many re-visits from me and Damien Rice has some gold tracks, but the albums have always felt lacking to me. With all that said, I do have some love set aside for singer/songwriters. In fact Denison Witmer is constantly playing on my iPod.

With all that said, I recently discovered a singer/songwriter with an album that has earned multiple listens and appreciation from myself before sitting down to write this review. Chris Garneau is fairly new on the scene and his debut full length, Music For Tourists, is an album that deserves to be more known than it is at this moment.

What makes Music For Tourists so interesting is not necessarily the style. We’ve all heard this style before in many variations. The songwriting is solid and, in most cases, better than a lot of his contemporaries. What Chris Garneau brings to the table that pushes Music For Tourists above the usual fare is his unique vocals and sometimes phrasing. It’s hard to put down in words, and is almost something you have to hear for yourself. Chris has a unique, hushed singing voice that sometimes will dip to a whisper. This makes for an interesting and relaxing listen. Coupled together with various Cello and Piano arrangements, Chris Garneau has created an extremely distinctive sound. Something some of these other singer/songwriters haven’t done. When you hear Chris Garneau, you know it’s Chris Garneau.

Released in early 2007, I’m a bit late in getting this review out, but Music For Tourists is an album that will continue to get repeat listens from me. It is a refreshing and rich album that will hopefully be a defining album in Chris Garneau’s budding career.

Stand Out Tracks:

“Relief”

“Baby’s Romance”

“We Don’t Try