Review Written by Steve Sheppard
I always like to judge an album on its opening refrain, if it has passion and purpose and self belief from the off, that sits well with me. I like to see the musician come out of the traps with intent and pride in their work, please excuse my rambling pre amble, but that is exactly what new musician Lynn Tredaeu has done on her debut album Echoes of Life.
She starts with a deeply thought provoking composition called Beyond the Veil, a piece that has some stunning minor segments that leaves the listener on the edge of their chair, but built into the drama, there is an elevation of musical structure that insures there is a certain positivity about the whole composition.
The longest track off the album is a piece called Pines Dressed in Winter. One more extremely professionally performed slice of nature filled magic and follows that up with, a memorable, but once again thought provoking arrangement called Please Remember, here is a piece that has some beautiful subtleties within it.
The careful changes of intensity and grace can be felt in the next composition called Mountain Dream. The lightness of the keys almost gives us that feeling of a dream like state, one that builds with a gentle by purposeful intensity.
For a debut album, Tredaeu has certainly given us something here to really think about, she has a style that is, both gentle, but artistically clever and at times reminds me of Robin Spielberg, the change of tempo on the track the Long Journey Home, is a fine example of an artist who really understands her skills and instrument of choice.
On Dancing on the Tall Grass we have a liberating composition that is filled with a sunny temperament of happiness, and then with Pacific Grey a total change of emphasis as a real nautical feel can be felt here, I would imagine this almost laid back gig, might be popular song, at a live venue.
Flight is a delight, ok, so that rhyme was deliberate but I couldn’t resist it, this track was one of my favourites, Tredaeu has manifested a moment of sheer ambience here that is to be revelled in. While on the piece, With Sun, Wind and Sand, she creates something almost cinematic and dramatic, I felt I could walk through a black and white movie of the Film Noir genre with this track, it’s so very spacious.
Music of wide open spaces can give a artist, the perfect palette to create something vast and very ambient, on Desert Rain, we have something special, the piano is played with such skill and careful
elevation in tones, that Tredaeu has brought into the world a tender grateful composition of great beauty, but more so, of great peace.
The penultimate piece is called Joyful and the title says it all, but there is no rush, no fast paced obvious tempo of deliberate intent, instead she brings to the table a superbly composed track of happiness with a knowing smile and then finishes the album with a piece called Morning’s Promise, while some musicians would leave this last piece for a grandstand power arrangement, Lynn Tredaeu, gives us a confident composition, redolent of a garden of a beautiful flowers, on a radiant summer morning styled arrangement, if you ever wanted to leave a debut album with style, the artist has totally succeeded with grace and poise on this release.
Lynn Tredaeu and the album Echoes of the Life is a sublime debut album that has all the hallmarks of a confident and passion filled opener, that has to be a total must for all lovers of the solo piano genre, but the care, calmness of pace and professionalism in this release, is rare in a debut album.
Lynn Tredaeu obviously cares and it shows and as such, the artist has set out her stall and one can only imagine how high she has raised the bar for her next album, you do not find many debut releases of such skill and posies as this one, I recommend you give it a try.