A Light Within The Dark - Chris Cranick (Album Review)

Chris Cranick has proven himself to be a capable and entertaining performer and songwriter in the Michigan music scene. Along with his band Overdrive Orchestra, he has been recognized in multiple “Best of the West” Revue Magazine award years, showing that in addition to support from the music community he has made an impression on West Michigan audiences. His soulful rock voice soars high and mellows low, and his guitar skills are equally as diverse and injected with passion. For 2021, he has crafted a new record to showcase his skills as a performer and songwriter with A Light Within The Dark, and these skills are definitely showcased in spades when you consider that aside from myself on various keyboard instruments and Scott Pellegrom on the drums, the album is fully written and performed by Chris.

“Take A Load Off” is a great way to kick off the record and give listeners an idea of what they can expect throughout the record: layered accompaniments that don’t take away from the vocals, psychedelic/spacey textures added among the rock/Americana aesthetic, and solid performances by Chris and the supporting artists on the record. It  grooves over a guitar riff that has a bouncy, rhythmic hook (think “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham!) and expands to a lightly Americana-seasoned rock tune, complete with guitar and mandolin melodies overtop. “Black Tea” relaxes things a little with a dreamy rock aesthetic that has an instrumental section that mirrors the melodies on the verses. “Sleep Talking” progresses that much closer to the fully relaxed, adding more soundscapes for the listener to sink into as his vocals continue to remain present. “Light In Your Eyes” drops the psychedelic rock vibe and sinks into a mellow, Americana styling to the overall flavor of the song. There are some great vocal harmonies, an added melodica for a different, bright texture, and some lead lines on acoustic guitar. “Chasing The Sunset” feels like when you’re in the car on the highway trying to get to the Michigan shoreline to watch a sunset: fast-paced, light and enjoyable, with all of your stresses melting away as you take in the scenery. The way it’s written and the various ambient tones surrounding the song structure reminds me of My Morning Jacket almost, with a wonderful vocal hook to tie everything together. Then, after the sunset, folks gather around the campfire to hear a story in “Firebug,” a wonderful, acoustic-guitar driven number that shines in its ability to be patient in its shaping of dynamics. With the Americana “train” backbeat comfortably driving the tune and Chris’ vocals shining through, it’s no wonder this was the first single released off of the record. Finally, in a fitting end to this record, “West Coast Blues” creates a sonic summary of what makes this album a wonderful listen: solid songwriting, careful attention to how the electronic and acoustic textures play together, and great guitar and vocal work from Chris, complete with a slide guitar solo that glides effortless overtop the spacey textures.

In 7 tracks that sit a few minutes shy of a 30 minute release, Chris Cranick has successfully demonstrated why he has garnered so much support over the years in Michigan. Each tune sits in the rock genre while taking steps to explore other styles that result in enhanced song structures rather than straying too far from the overall aesthetic. Every guitar line or vocal hook is comfortably placed, showing an artist with experience that knows how to craft a record. It’s a record that lets Chris shine his brightest in a variety of ways, a celebration of humble approaches to well-rounded talent. Pop this CD in the car and let that long commute stress just melt away, this is the perfect compliment to a summer evening!

Support Chris Cranick!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chriscranickmusic/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriscranick/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1rpZY0x4nsqnYKqVYKSR8p?si=ICov73DSTuOJiY2qfRAP8w
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisCranickMusic
Bandcamp:: https://chriscranickmusic.bandcamp.com/

Album Credits:
Chris Cranick: Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Vocals, Bass, Mandolin, E-Bow, Percussion

Additional Musicians:
Dutcher Snedeker: Piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Melodica
Scott Pellegrom: Drums

All songs written by Chris Cranick
Published by Phunky Phetus Music (ASCAP)
Produced by Chris Cranick
Engineered by Kevin Kozel
Recorded at Third Coast Recording Company in Grand Haven, MI
Mixed by Kevin Kozel
Mastered by Ian Gorman at La Luna Recording & Sound in Kalamazoo, MI
Photography by Paige Stevens and Chris Cranick
Album Design by Chris Cranick
Thank You: Paige, John + Therese, Taylor + Adam, Adam + Jackie, Cameron, Shaun, James, Chris + Carlie, Matt + Debbie, Brian, Jordan, Pat, Tay, Mike, Nikki, Jesse + Danielle, Bobby + Denys, Darline + Mike, Jeremiah + Alicia, Zach, Kevin, Scott, Dutcher, Bill, Ian, John, all my friends and family as well as the beautiful state of Michigan

Featured Composer: Matthew Finch

One thing that Grand Valley State University does not lack in is student collaborations. From student led side projects, chamber groups, and discussions on music, GVSU has a community that often isn't observed beyond the cluster of practice rooms and large ensemble concerts. One student who has invested a lot of time and energy into collaborating is this week's featured artist, Matthew Finch. Matthew Finch is a GVSU student that will instantly leave an impression upon first meeting him. His cheerful disposition is only matched by his passion for creating music. He wears a variety of hats as a musician, including working in electronic and acoustic mediums, on the electric bass, and as a composer and ensemble leader. Pulling from a variety of influences in New Music and ambient electronic music, the different avenues in which he operates serve to highlight his overall talents as a musician.

Currently, Finch is a graduating senior at GVSU, with a focus in composition. This focus has led him to work with other student composers and willing performers to premiere a variety of works, including pieces performed at the GVSU Student Composer Competition and at the recurring "Die Bibliomusik" series held at GVSU's Mary Idema Pew Library. Each work draws from a minimalist background, connecting ideas in layers that are slowly constructing the overall work during the course of the performance. I myself have played works by him for solo piano and electronics and with GVSU's New Music Ensemble at these types of events. While the ensemble now can guess which pieces he wrote for  the "mystery" minute-long pieces for this year's composer competition when reading through the scores, it is only because he has developed a strong compositional voice as a student. Currently, he is planning on performances of his acoustic and electronic works for his senior project recital, and part of the performance includes the "Fragile Thought Ensemble," a collective of students performing his latest and longest work "Fragile Thought."

The ensemble contains several players: myself on piano, Julia Gjebic (English horn), Kevin Flynn (cello), Richie Arndorfer (oboe), Bailey Groendyke (vibraphone), and Krista Visnovsky (violin). Many of these players are pulled from active participants in the GVSU New Music Ensemble, with Arndorfer being another active composer/performer and Groendyke providing additional percussion on certain NME performances. The piece is a great example of Finch's writing style, playing around with elements of minimalism and including cell-based motifs for the majority of the players. The piece revolves around the rhythmic interplay between the percussion and the piano, as they serve as a grounding of the pulse. This pairing also deals with a drawn out syncopation in a mixed-meter motif, acting as a strong rhtyhmic engine moving the piece towards the end. One could say he has drafted his own version of a "rhythmic crescendo," as the winds and strings move from out-of-time to grounded in the meter and back out, capsizing the foundation left in the piano and vibraphone to close the piece.

The idea for the music comes from focusing on fragility, specifically viewing how firm/solid items fracture and break over time. These concepts were then honed into textures that form a sonic shape, showing a clear movement from the more amorphous state, to solid, to the fracturing of that solid. The amorphous textures are created through the cell-based material heard in the winds and strings. These cells are small musical expressions meant to be played out of time and interpreted by the performer, outlining a more malleable sound moving with the piano, which serves as a sort of sonic anchor for the overall harmonic and rhythmic progression. The strings, winds, and marimba eventually arrive in rhythmic step with the piano, with a large poly-rhythmic figure played between the piano and marimba to the end, even as the other instruments gradually dissolve back into their "liquid" state.

When Finch isn't composing or facilitating performances his work, he can be seen working on M.O.T.H, a project steeped in ambient textures and generating sonic environments. Rooted in his layering and delaying of electric guitar and bass with effect/looping pedals, the project began around he end of his high school years and really coming to fruition during his studies at GVSU. His desire to collaborate through playing the electric bass expands beyond the bandstand to include the audience members in the show environment. Their recently debut on "slashsound" invites the listener on a journey rich with variety in the listening experience. "slashsound is proud to present our first worldwide release, 3 Vignettes, by Grand Rapids-based melodic noise project, M.O.T.H. specializing in longform pieces with organic, gradual development, M.O.T.H's gleaming timbral spectrums, poetic spoken-word discourses, and synesthetic sonic landscapes make for a truly surreal listen." Drawing from the improvisatory natures of jazz and New Music within the "atmosphere of the classical idiom," Finch creates a harmonious, glowing, constant texture that is geared towards being inclusive and inviting others to a discussion.

He is very deliberate in execution, carefully choosing each sound to place in the larger narrative found in the album. The focus of the album is commenting on the capitalist nature of the music industry, specifically geared towards how it forces most artists into a mold in order to achieve any success. While observers may first read this description as a brazen anthem spat forth from a punk band's front man, it is instead Finch's continued interest in being inclusive by inviting the listener into a discussion.  His music is subtle yet highly creative, and if you need firsthand proof you can find him at Grand Rapids Brewing Company for their  "Studio Night," where he creates a space for bar patrons and artists alike to inhabit with his music on Mondays.

I definitely encourage you to expand your musical palette and check out some of the projects that he is involved with. Below you will find links to his artist page, his debut album through SlashSound, and to dates where he will be performing or leading performances of his works. Matthew Finch is also an active participant at the UICA's  bi-monthly open projector nights by contributing his own personal films and providing the scoring to other films.

Check out his projects:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MOTH/1533430716933200?fref=ts

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/m-o-t-h-project 

Debut Album: https://m-o-t-h.bandcamp.com/album/3-vignettes