New York-born indie-artist C.K. Flach new album, “Empty Mansions” evokes both a nostalgic memory of hearing a song played at a coffee house and the warmness of being home on a Sunday morning. A native of Coeymans Hollow in Albany, Flach draws from various elements to construct his experience, which in the end is easily described as a master fusion of poetry and soulful music. Through these tales, Flach harnesses the power of catchy riffs; his unusual style making him a unique creator of tunes.
Although Flach’s songs can be described as morbid and maybe the song you’d hear playing during a breakup scene or while thinking about the state of America, there’s a level of depth not found on the radio today. The avant-garde style that Flach incorporates moves each track far beyond the surface. His style keeps the album consistent and the music fluid. A testament to his depth, he adds a Latin flare to his acoustic guitar in some of his songs as he transitions between the melodies and the harmonies.
Throughout the album, Flach doesn’t try to throw off the listener with new themes but keeps everything centralized and connected to things like love and loss or abuse and the political climate. His fluidity throughout the album gives him an edge that not too many artists have but he does so without repeating himself. His songs are great to listen to, but it won’t bore you-each song has something new to offer.
Flach’s songs are authentic and leave behind notes of oppression, political turmoil, calamity (pun intended) and so much more. He is able to sync both his poetry and music into one piece; It transcends simply speaking into a mike or playing a couple of chords on a guitar. With Flach, you don’t know what to expect because he is not limited to expressing himself in one way. He explores his musical talent through lyrics, various topics, and genres, voice range, and style to create a beautiful album such as Empty Mansions.
His ability to be sensitive to the type of songs that would work well on the album is key to his future success as he does set a stage for himself with Empty Mansions. He proves that there is more to music than words on a paper or a nice voice but that the collective process is just as important as the music you create.
Leave a Reply