Left Impressions By Chris TB

 

Left Impressions

By

Chris TB

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Lately a lot of new artists to me have been finding there way onto my desktop, this latest release being one of them, and it thrilled me no end to jump into its refreshing and exciting contents, I am referring to the album Left Impressions by Chris TB, a thrilling roller coaster of instrumental music, and a ride of great quality.

The opening offering is entitled Impressions, this rhythmic pastiche of tonal delights is a truly powerful and exciting mix of keyboards and percussion, reminding me a musician I haven’t heard for years in the UK’s Ramsay Gee.

The following narrative would turn out to be my personal favourite from the album; the track is called City Awakens, the slow onward build from the inception of the piece was steady but full of tone and style, one which would grow as the day in the composition would unfurl, on one of the finest examples of instrumental music I have heard this year, with elements of the legendary 2002 group weaved within.

Curiously we’re actually about to enter summer here in Cyprus, but taking the context of the song for what it says on the can, the track Summer Slowly Slips Away is a beautifully composed opportunity for a reflective composition to play out, and it certainly does that, this for me is a late October piece, the leaves start to change and there is something different about the days ahead, beautifully written and composed by the artist indeed, and could with ease be a TV theme.

In Abundance once more has that steady build we have come to expect by bands like the aforementioned 2002, the slow pull towards a multi-instrumental delight, a slight symphonic element, a tender crescendo, and with ease the most ambient track off the album.

There is a dream like quality to the next piece called Meaningful Places, then with the addition of a rhythmic percussion we are gifted a track that is light in its energies, but has a great quality about its arrangement and compositional structures, electronic piano, a bass line that seems to walk, and thus you have another fine example of truly textured instrumental music.

The piano holds this next piece in full view on the offering Dreams of Better Times, guitar, a delicate rhythm and percussion are soon added in another track that once more could easily be adapted for a television show with ease. This is easy listening music at its very best.

Another favourite of mine is the penultimate track off the album and called What Could Be. I sat for a while with this one, before I remembered the same energy of compositional structure had in fact reminded me of another instrumentalist from North America called Timothy Wenzel, for me this is an exciting comparison as Wenzel is a very accomplished instrumental artist, and Chris TB on this very composition has manifested something very interesting and compelling as well, a thoughtful and almost enticing narrative can be explored here.

We conclude this musical voyage with the track With Gratitude, there is something anthem like to be found here, one that perhaps offers up an ending or signals a resolution of sorts, regardless this is a sublime way with which to complete the piece, and the keyboard swirling story line reminded me in part of US instrumentalist Holland Phillips in style.

Left Impressions by Chris TB has to be one of the most interesting albums I have had the pleasure to review this year, there are so many aspects to it, so many nuances to be enjoyed, from electronics, to new age, from soundtrack to TV theme music, literally by getting this release, and placing it on your player of choice, you will have found an album that you will never tire of, I see big things ahead on the charts for Left Impressions by Chris TB.