Chris Garneau Music For Tourists by: Liam Tracey Wed:28-Nov-07 Label: XL Year: 2007 WB rating 58 out of 100

Originally from Boston and now residing in New York, Chris Garneau has a reputation for beauty in his songwriting and performance. With a voice that has been compared to Sufjan Stevens and lyrics likened to Rufus Wainwright, such a pedigree may very well arouse a strong curiosity for those unfamiliar with his work. After two years in the making, Garneau has released his debut album, Music For Tourists, which takes the listener on a gently driven ride into the songwriter’s thoughts about the world, life and relationships. 

The softness of this album is complemented by Garneau’s tender vocals that seem almost like breathy whispers throughout the record’s entirety. Garneau’s tenor has a feminine quality about it at times, as it blends itself almost perfectly into his own calm piano. However, the consistency of such vocal qualities makes it difficult to distinguish the particular emotions Garneau is trying to express. The happier ‘So Far’, relates a dry humour to a song about a close relationship (“we haven’t missed a good day of television yet so far”), its emotion too similar to that of the pessimistic ‘Sad News’ (“I should have killed you myself”). 

Comparisons to Sufjan Stevens’ are, however, fairly justified as Garneau’s voice bares a liking to that of Stevens. However, the similarly quiet Stevens arranges his sounds so that his music as a whole is adequately varied, whereas Garneau often fails to experiment and provide the much needed diversity. Elliot Smith and Michael Leviton (as exemplified by Smith’s ‘Between the Bars’ as a hidden 14th track) are also channelled vocally through Garneau’s sound, although again both of these artists provide a variation in composition that Garneau seems unwilling or unable to explore.

From the first track ‘Castle-time’ the listener is evoked with a desire for a build up and climax that never rach fruition. Having to wait a few tracks in, Garneau finally delivers such a soar on ‘Black & Blue’, confronting listener expectations. This moment is disappointingly the highest peak provided on Tourists and whilst chimes and melodica on ‘So Far’ and the altered lyrical metre on ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ also prick the ear, the album plateaus for the second two-thirds. Having three exclamation marks in a song title (‘First Place!!!’) should really imply some kind of imperativeness, but it’s just not the case and the musical treasures on Tourists are limited to Kalb’s cello and the occasional French horn provided by Will de Vos. 

The narratives told via Garneau’s lyrics are by far the strongest feature of the record. ‘Relief’ evokes childhood memories within the listener, whilst ‘So Far’ tells a story of Garneau’s own experiences and his joy in having his boyfriend cook his meals for him. ‘Castle-Time’ tells of how people will forget the troubles of the world over their pints whilst ‘We Don’t Try’ tries to provoke the listen to actually bother to try and make change. These tales are strong on Tourists because they evoke emotions within the listener despite Garneau’s music not necessarily being able to; Garneau’s lyricism communicating to the listener because they are real life snapshots that the listener is able to easily relate to.

Garneau’s sophistication shines through on his first long player and is complemented excellently by his dynamic skills on the piano. Whilst the pace of this album is very slow and its peaks minimal, Garneau has released a record that is gently beautiful and emotionally evoking. However, at nearly an hour long and with a general sameness that floods all 14 tracks, Tourists lingers on the brink of tediousness, his lyrical nous and the record’s continuity saving it from bargain bin status.