Solo album from a member of The Paper Chase uses the piano to support these melodic tunes full of dark corners, jagged edges and artfully detailed lyrics.

11 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Post-Rock/Experimental, FOLK: Folk-Rock



Details:
The piano, in some form, has challenged the boundaries of popular
music since Mozart used his compositions to thumb his nose at Austrian
royalty. Before the electric guitar became a symbol of rebellion, the
ivories provided a musical voice for lust, freedom, sadness and
celebration. In that tradition, Dallas songwriter Sean Kirkpatrick has
eschewed six strings for the true passion of 88 - paired with hammers
and connected to keys, of course - for the majority of his musical
career.

After fronting iconic Dallas/Denton bands like no-scene darlings
Maxine's Radiator (1994-1998), the cocksure synth-punk outfit The
Signals (2001-2002), and co-piloting the inventive, electro-rock group
The Falcon Project (1998-2002), Kirkpatrick had earned a name for
himself as a showman behind the keys - and as a talented, in-demand
musician. He spent a year in beloved indie band Spoon and was later
asked to join the eloquent and alarming Kill Rock Stars group The
Paper Chase, of which he remains a member.

But during all of Kirkpatrick's time in various bands, he has been
busy writing his own songs. After a couple of years playing alone to
anxious fans, he finally presents his debut full-length of solo
material, Turn On the Interference.

It's an album of haunting melodies spanning carnival to dirge, with
Kirkpatrick's classically-gifted fingers traversing the keys
throughout each track. His tenor/baritone voice is strong and emotive,
representing all feelings from surly to sorry with a sincerity
listeners can only hear from those that perform self-penned tunes.
"The Interference" sends bluesy to space and back, and "Quiet As He's
Sleeping" takes what are sometimes near-barrelhouse keys into an
almost sinister arena. "Erica, Welcome to the Funhouse" is the
swirling, swaying equivalent of looking into that very funhouse's
mirror.

Interference is quite obviously a labor of love - but more than the
romantic sort. Kirkpatrick's love of the craft as well as the
musicians that inspire him (André Ethier, Jellyroll Morton,
Television, Nina Simone, The Birthday Party and others) are evident in
his composition, performance and experimentation song after song.
Samples, effects and accompanying instruments aside, however,
Kirkpatrick's Turn On the Interference is very much a
singer/songwriter's album. It is, at its very core, an exercise in
expression via 88 keys and one voice.