JP Corwyn I Will Wait
by
Sarah
June 2005
Three things immediately evident about JP Corwyn:
1) He can sing.
2) He can play guitar.
3) He can write songs.
Seemingly full of talent, and more than capable of overcoming personal
obstacles (he's been legally blind since birth), Corwyn seems destined
for greatness - bound for glory - the rock 'n' roll story of next year...
Here's the truth: it's possible.
Corwyn, proposed as sounding like Eddie Vedder or Jeff Buckley, actually
sounds more like the love child of Rob Thomas and Live's Ed Kowalczyk.
His guitar playing is fierce, his lyrics are intriguing, and his songs
are catchy.
But something is missing...
Corwyn's four-song EP, I Will Wait, is too clean. Each song more
polished than the last, all four tracks sound like the disposable Top
Forty garbage that is on the radio these days. Corwyn's voice holds an
intimacy that is unexplored, and an anger that sounds uncomfortably
harnessed. It sounds as if, for the sake of a radio hit, Corwyn has
bottled up his truth.
These days, the shrill screams of the TRL crowd are reserved for Ryan
Cabrera's perfected bedhead, and a leather-pants-clad, booty-shaking Rob
Thomas. If Scott Stapp ever makes his anticipated solo album, it will
likely generate the same response. In a nutshell, the satellite-radio
waves are overloaded right now with falsely passionate, throaty male
singers.
I Will Wait's title track seems destined to be track 18 on the next
NOW compilation. Corwyn's lyrics about committment and having
too much to drink are a far cry from musical poetry. The expectations
that accompany Corwyn's obvious talent are crashed on the rocks of the
Top Forty music industry as each song begins and ends.
Cowyn's best bet is to unharness his rage and explore the intimacy of
his voice and his music. Hidden within this EP is great potential, but
at the moment, it looks like a TRL future if Corwyn even makes it that
far.
www.jpcorwyn.com
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