Though still only in his early 20s, David Vandervelde is something of a seasoned veteran of a recording artist, having started out at the age of 14 in his home state of Michigan with a misguided attempt at metal. His journey saw him experimenting with various forms of music over the next decade before settling on a woozy, romantic kind of soft Americana. He forced out his first record The Moonstation House Band in 2007, but it was in this LP, released in 2008, that saw his stunning potential realised. This is a majestic example of classic American songwriting in the tradition of Jackson Browne, early Neil Young or James Taylor. The lyrical immaturity, understandable for a 22-year-old, somehow makes Waiting For The Sunrise more attractive. The direct wistful romance of songs like 'Old Turns', has a childlike innocence to its wonder at the world to complement one of Vandervelde's most gorgeous melodies.
That song is undoubtedly one of the album's highlights. Others include the imperious 'Cryin' Like The Rain', complete with Elliott Smith-style reverb effects on vocals and 'Need For Now', which again shows Vandervelde a little blunt with his poetry, yet the innate compositional gifts and immaculate production saves him again. The song enjoys a lengthy, luscious fade-out that suggests a definite gospel influence at work here, a crucial ingredient to Waiting For The Sunrise that only adds to Vandervelde's growing voice. If The Eagles had concentrated on writing songs rather than chasing the dollar, they may well have made a record as sumptuous as this. Soft rock, possibly, but never entering the sentimental territory of its more wet practitioners.
To tag Vandervelde as alt-country would be a cruel label for the young man, given he has clearly exposed himself to music beyond the Laurel Canyon hub circa 1970 that so influenced him - you have to look for it but there is the odd Eastern inflection on this album, as well as elements that even reflect his younger incarnation as a metaller. However, in his late teens he hooked up with the late former Wilco man Jay Bennett, and it is his influence more than any other that seems to have shown up on Waiting For The Sunrise. Fans of early Wilco may want to investigate Vandervelde. Although like I say, do not call him alt-country. His music and indeed his long flowing mane, is too pretty for that.
Vandervelde's wandering sensibilities ensure that this may be the last album he makes of such singer-songwriterly fare. If one visits his MySpace they will be pointed towards a free download of a new song of his, 'Psychedelic Saturday', which is a 16-minute beast of a track combining heavy rock with prog and world and nu-folk. If this is the new direction Vandervelde looks set to turn in, that makes total sense. Providing he doesn't burn himself out by jumping between too many different styles with his customary enthusiastic abandon, Vandervelde is a shoe-in to be in it for the long haul. Thank you, Secretly Canadian.
