Reveal By Forrest Smithson

 

Reveal

By

Forrest Smithson

Written by

Andy Rogers

 

Forrest Smithson is a composer of beautiful and entrancing music. Hailing from North California he has been releasing wonderful albums full of musical invention and harmony for many years.

Perhaps best known for his ambient and atmospheric albums such as Future Temples and Parallel Worlds this brand new release, Reveal, sees him take his music in an unexpected direction - that of solo piano.

The album itself has 19 tracks of simply wonderful music. Each track has that inimitable Forrest Smithson “feel”, the music is warm and full of invention. Some are over four minutes Reveal and Watershed and grow slowly, drawing you into the track with alluring and reflective piano sounds. Others like Circule, Mirrors and Easy may only last for a minute or less, yet in that short time they are able to convey the emotion perfectly. 

The mood of the album changes constantly, but turns contemplative, at others reflective and just occasionally un-nerving. From the soothing almost new age feel of the title track Reveal, to the dark almost ambient Shadow, a piece that really does give you the space to allow the music to just be, the album holds your attention both by the change of moods and of course the strength of composition and Forrest’s exquisite playing of the piano. Each track is an experience to be enjoyed - the album certainly demands repeat plays in order to be really appreciated and perhaps even more deeply understood.

Look Closer changes the tempo slightly, and raises the energies of the album too, asking you to not just take things at face value, but to look closer and see what is hidden behind.

As we approach the end of the album, we come across a delightful arrangement called End of the Day, I could really imagine listening to this as my day unwinds, sitting back, reflecting on what has happened during it, and just enjoying the moment.

Make no mistake, this is not your usual sugar coated sweet new age background music. Rather, this is music to listen to and delight in, designed to musically open your mind to the differences between dreaming, awareness and perception of the world around us.

I really like this album. In sound feel and concept it reminds me of the work of Stephan Moccio or Ola Gjeilo, and as an admirer of both those pianists there is no finer compliment. If your taste in music is for contemporary solo piano that is musical and lyrical yet demands to be heard properly then Reveal by Forrest Smithson is an album you will treasure. 

There are times when an album walks into your life and in doing so a veritable shift can be felt, this is the case with Reveal, Forrest has taken the road less travelled perhaps, and in doing so has come away with a wondrous cornucopia of solo piano delights for us all to get lost happily within, this is one of those albums that you must have in your life at all costs, and by the very nature of its musical reality a huge hit must be on the cards for Reveal by Forrest Smithson.