In a somewhat unexpected move, Avriel Kaplan, bass vocalist for Grammy-winning pop a cappella group
Pentatonix, delivers his first solo release, the elegant and understated
Sage and Stone. Named for California's Sequoia National Park, near where Kaplan grew up,
Avriel & the Sequoias offer some of the quiet grandeur of folk icons like
Nick Drake and
Simon & Garfunkel, delivering a handful of songs with pastoral string arrangements and gentle fingerpicked guitar. Even on the more contemporary-sounding indie folk songs, Kaplan's voice is rarely showy, his restraint putting the emphasis on the material and arrangements. It's a solid debut with an organic feel that is a far cry from the high-gloss sound of his
Pentatonix work. ~ Timothy Monger