Being that emo has begun to make itself a fixture in popular music, it makes sense that it has also begun to move even more from its emotional hardcore roots and into other musical trends like indie rock, pop, and in the case of
Sam Duckworth (the man behind the rather cumbersomely named
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly), even a bit of orchestral pop, folk, and indie electronica. Despite these various influences, however, what the artist does on his debut,
The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager, is not particularly different from the other vaguely introspective young singer/songwriters out there -- singer/songwriters who grew up listening to
Saves the Day and
Dashboard Confessional and
Green Day -- with his plaintive, often monotonous and sometimes whiny vocals about becoming an adult, figuring life out, and falling in love. While
Duckworth doesn't quite have the emotional talents of a, let's say, Chris Carrabba, he is convincing enough in his word choice and delivery, his mix of lightheartedness, intimate reflection, and societal criticism ("Do I turn every conversation and every contemplation I make into a self-pity trip?" he wonders in part two of the title song) to come across as a legitimate force. While his "let's try and enjoy life but also constantly reflect heavily upon it" message and simple acoustic guitar chords can get a little repetitive, and cliché (something, to be fair, he realizes: "I'm just trying to make you sing, and not be perplexed" he says on "I-Spy"), thanks to the added but never ornate instrumentation -- the cornet, the strings, the keyboards, the electronic beeps --
GC.WC.F manages to keep things on the album from blending into one another, manages to give each of the songs a separate identity.
The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager is emo, but the fact that it has branched out from the customary definition of that means that it should attract a wider selection of (mostly teenaged) fans. ~ Marisa Brown