Album Review: Begbie – Riddles (2016 EP)

Adelaide singer, songwriter and guitarist Begbie is only twenty years of age and has developed some talented tracks that you should definitely get behind if you’re into the indie scene. The journey is only just underway, but the skills are there for a path of success.

Riddles opens with the track “Bottles on the Floor”; it sweeps you in from the first note plucked, the piano becomes involved along with various other ticks and tocks. The other sounds you hear are random audio clips Begbie recorded and ‘modulated the f*ck out of’. Not the cleanest way of putting it, but it did the job spot on and helped a lot making the tune sound, well… clean!

Begbie’s voice can range from a unique matured low, right up to impressive high and long stretching notes. The majority of his singing throughout the EP is at a delighting casual easy going and ear-pleasing tone, but not at all monotone. He expresses himself well with aggressed verses bringing out the passion and meaning he’s driven into his songs.

The second song of the EP, “Liquid Death Star”, greets us with enchanting strings and the presence of Begbie’s smooth vocals. This track takes a more relaxing trip with a lot more harmonies being included until roughly mid-way through when notes begin to get deeper and stronger, a drum beat kicks in and the song flips on its head. It becomes a slightly faster paced mix of piano, drums and Begbie yells before fading away to silence leaving you starved for more.

Begbie produced the entirety of Riddles besides the mastering, which was done by Don Bartley at Benchmark Recordings. The creation of the EP took roughly three to four months, which is quite impressive from a solo artist. A much deeper and slower song ends Riddles. Third and final track of the EP, “Harm”, starts off with a slow metronome later joined by stunting piano keys.

One note after the other we sink into the deeper side of the EP. Begbie smoothly sings but drops in and out of aggressive screams and howls. Nothing that disrupts the overall feeling of the song, only the perfect amount to add that touch of darkness.

Review Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Begbie has graced us with the free streaming of Riddles on Soundcloud, check it out hereRiddles is available for purchase via Spotify and iTunes now.

 

 

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