Analysis Of The Chapell's Newest Album ‘Soul Man’

Chapell is rightfully an indie rock band on the rise. The band exhibits extraordinary musical talent that truly distinguishes them from the masses of junior musicians trying to make it big. The bands newest album ‘Soul Man’ is a work of art. Each song from the album acts as a strand of yarn. Each song weaves together to make one whole, artfully crafted work of art.

Any run-of-the-mill musician can produce an album. These albums usually results in a mediocre collection of music and typically features eclectic song choices and lack of any real harmony and meaning. A true musical genius can create an album that tells a complete story. Chapell’s newest album ‘Soul Man’ is the work of a musical genius. Each song on the album tells an individual story, but the album as a whole has a story to tell as well. This type of successful storytelling is a sign of authentic musical talent.

Along with incorporating genuine meaning into the album, ‘Soul Man’ also avoids any predictability. Each song in the album varies in structure in a way that maintains the high quality nature of the album while still providing enough diversity in each individual track to warrant a new musical experience for listeners. Although each song varies, Chapell still manages to bring an upbeat sentiment to every track in ‘Soul Man’. This optimistic emotion washes over listeners creating a feeling of invigorating strength.

The main vocals showcased in ‘Soul Man’ by lead vocalist Alan Chapell brings a gruffness to the track. This gruffness provides a gritty, earthy feeling that helps add depth to the album. The outstanding vocals convey a contrasting element to the instrumental arrangement that brings out the best in both parties. The vocals accentuate the soothing instrumentation while the instrumentation brings out the complexity of the vocals. Chapell’s primary vocals are further supported by Culotta, Ponce, and Klein’s supporting vocals. Together their singings create a perfectly blended melody that further builds the harmony of the album. The recording quality of the vocals is incredibly strong and brings an extra flavor to the album’s tracks. The recording technique used in ‘Soul Man’ brings an intimate quality to the piece that gives listeners the feeling that they are sitting in a little café down the street listening to the band live. This quality really brings listeners closer to the band.

The vocalists of Chapell perform with an incredibly clear timbre on the album which gives the vocals a supple and penetrating quality. The vocals absolutely demand listeners attention and the harmony of it truly reaches out and tugs listeners further into the album’s blissful trance. Despite its demanding quality, the vocals have a sincerely gentle quality to them that helps reinforce the upbeat and peaceful tone created throughout the album

The highest point of this album is the instrumental arrangement featured in each song. Chapell incorporates a variety of musical instruments that balances amongst the others perfectly. Ali Culotta, the pianist and vocalist, brings a graceful feeling to each track, particularly ‘Heaven Mix’, with her brilliant piano instrumentation. The clear timbre of the piano helps accentuate the gracefulness of the other instruments, particularly the violin. Lorenza Ponce, the violinist for the band, is truly a master of her craft. The violin playing across each and every song was incredible with its pure timbre. The purity of the violin created a feeling of innocence for the album. Ann Klein, the band’s guitarist, also furthered the instrumental variety with her clear guitar playing that truly reflects Klein’s dedication to the fundamentals of her instrument.

Lyrically, ‘Soul Man’ impresses with a mix of songs each with unique lyrics that conveys the bands perspective and story of life with originality and depth. The track that stands out the most in ‘Soul Man’ is “Brave Mix” which gives listeners a real insight into the band’s perspective on bravery with lyrics such as, “Brave is your word. Safe is your feeling. Brave is your God. Strength your emotion. Brave is your word. Love your religion. Brave is your God.”

The recording quality of this particular album is incredibly strong with the only real criticism being the balance between the instrumental arrangement and the vocals. With the two elements separated, the different vocals balance amongst each other perfectly and the different instruments balanced with one another impeccably as well. However, when the vocals and instrumental arrangement are put together the instrumentation can sometimes overpower the vocals creating an unbalanced quality to the album. That being said, the track is otherwise flawlessly beautiful. The climax in regards to recording quality for this album is the lack of digital effects which is a refreshing aspect for this particular genre and it helps showcase the natural talent the musicians of Chapell have.

Chapell’s newest full-length album ‘Soul Man’ showcases the very best Chapell has to offer with its incredible musical harmony and memorable tracks. The album is one that any true music lover shouldn’t miss out on.