Noah Gundersen is a young, folksy singer-songwriter from
Centralia, Washington. Just recently was I recommended to listen to his work,
and I’m glad I did. Modern folk and folk-rock can be so hit or miss these days.
As much as I enjoy some Mumford & Sons, I can only hear I Will Wait on the radio so many times
per day and not go a little crazy. Gundersen’s work is more pure indie-folk
though.
The tone is usually mellow with his soothing voice, guitar playing, and
sister Abby’s violin playing in the background. Abby and Noah create most of
their music themselves with the occasional help of their brother on percussion
as well. It’s very family and friend oriented and it really comes through in
Noah’s songs. One thing I really appreciate is that all of his songs sound very
honest. There are a lot of themes of religion but I wouldn’t refer to him as a
Christian artist by any means. Noah’s songs are about what he knows and there’s
a freshness to that. He isn’t creating some persona or trying too hard to be
folksy or something he’s not. I would say his sound is comparable to Damien
Rice but with a little more American feel to it. You can definitely hear small
hints of his influences like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Band, and Tom Waits in
his music. (Personally I think those should be influences for all musicians but
I’m a little biased.)
The first thing I purchased when I was told to check Noah
Gundersen out was his Family EP. According to Noah’s facebook page people who
have influenced him throughout his life related to all the songs on this album.
Aptly named Family, his sister Abby of course accompanies him on most of the EP
as well. I love that although he definitely has a distinct sound to his music,
none of the songs sound the same. Some are a little bit more upbeat like David and Fire, which has a great, heavy beat to it. Then in contrast you
have the title track that closes out the EP, which is quiet and has a very
serious tone to it. Much like his influence Bob Dylan, Noah’s Family makes you sit and think about the
lyrics and the song as whole. The imagery is absolutely fabulous and paints
such a truthful image in my mind. It is hands down my favorite track off the
entire EP. Every song is great within itself though and I can’t wait to see
what other work Noah and his sister produce.
Noah Gundersen performing Family
Noah Gundersen has two EP’s out Saints & Liars released
in 2009 and Family released in 2011. Today he announced that his first full
length will be released in February of 2014.
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