Waldner - Found & Lost

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 23 / 3 / 2011

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Review

A new name around these parts this is actually Canadian–born David Waldner’s second album; his first was titled ‘Flicker’ and was released as far back as 1995 but it failed to reach these parts. On the evidence on ‘Found & Lost’ Waldner is one of those artists who produces classic pop/rock that never dates and therefore sounds like it could have been made any time in the last forty or so years. It’s melodic, extremely so in fact; vocally he has a warm, inviting style that won’t offend anyone and which is instantly appealing and over the ten original songs he self-produced here he proves time and again that he can write interesting lyrics to go with those stunning melodies. And if that is Waldner playing the lead guitar on the title song for one example he’s also a guitar player of some note. All the songs on ‘Found & Lost’ are cut from a similar cloth, there’s a sneaking suspicion that while Waldner seemingly has no problem in writing timeless, catchy, inviting pop/rock songs this could well be just one side of this Canadian who is currently living in London. But for now and because the songs on ‘Found & Lost’ are so strong we can only hope that Waldner doesn’t abandon the sound he has created on this album just yet. While vocally there is little to distinguish Waldner from any number of singers through the years ; he simply has a vocal style that’s appealing without being quirky or even one of those voices you’ll either love or hate. Sure you can turn on the radio or TV and hear many other singers that share Waldner’s vocal style, but when coupled with his outstanding compositional skills there are few that match him. Writing songs that will stand up in years, even decades, to come is no easy task although Waldner, with these ten songs might have you thinking that way, and one of the obvious attractions to this album is that it is made up of timeless pop music. While it’s not possible to point the finger and say that Waldner sounds like a mere clone of a certain artist or band there are limitless influences apparent in his work. What makes ‘Found & Lost’ so appealing is that those influences are surely the bands and artists that matter; the ones who are or were making the music that we will still be listening to in twenty years time. Obvious places to start are the Beatles and the bands of the sixties, music that was made in times that now seem more innocent than today, but there is none of the R’n’B swagger of the Rolling Stones or even the Who here, this is pure pop of the kind that the Lightning Seeds, XTC and even the Raspberries have been trying to keep alive through the years. While the whole album is instantly accessible there are a few songs like ‘Rude Awakening’ that for all the positivity the music generates take a few plays before they become your new favourite pop song. But never once does Waldner lose sight of a melody that won’t leave you alone after a few plays at the most. ‘Found & Lost’ is an album of extremely catchy pop songs that will never age played and sung by an artist who obviously knows his stuff and who, on checking the credits in the CD booklet, must be one of the most talented unknown guitarists in London just now; his playing on this album is simply stunning. There’s nothing new here but we should be thankful that artists like Waldner are keeping perfect pop music alive and kicking and turning out albums that will still be played long after most of what is selling just now is long forgotten.

Track Listing:-

1 Going Up Against Goliath
2 The Wait
3 Too Much Of You
4 Heaven Only Knows
5 Found And Lost
6 Rude Awakening
7 Undone
8 In Stone
9 Wilderness
10 This Wonderful Pain