Alex Wellkers’ famous now has generated a positive buzz for the Swiss-born songwriter/musician since its June release. His latest recording highlights nine of Wellkers’ best recent songs in a compelling sonic light. He solidified his strong connection with music early in life and worked studiously towards reaching his artistic goals; it’s a key reason why this young songwriter’s nine songs possess such maturity.
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Another reason is innate and unbridled talent. Wellkers has a clear vision for his music clear in the album’s first track. “Get This Far” stands among a rare breed, a solo cut relying on nothing but Wellkers’ singing and piano, but his melodic talents are enough to overcome any perceived paucity. It even conjures a thin veneer of atmospherics that further contributes to the song’s appeal.
“What Keeps Me Alive” is a 180-degree stylistic turn. Wellkers is working with a full band for the first time here and moves on from the opener’s piano balladry. We’re traveling through rockier terrain though that should be qualified. It’s never crassly obvious guitar rock but, instead, compositionally minded with grit and grind flavoring the sound. His ability to bring light and shadow to bear in his music is a classic virtue.
His vocals deserve particular mention. Some listeners will hear hints of his emotive talents in the opener that emerge full flower in the second song’s setting. Wellkers deserves note, as well, for how he carefully modulates his singing for effect. “We See It All Coming” is one of the album’s zeniths. It’s a deeply felt crawl towards an apocalyptic outcome and derives much of its power from the musicians’ patient development of the song. Bluesy guitar work, often ashamedly lyrical, carries the song to greater heights.
Not knowing the German language isn’t enough to sabotage enjoying the otherwise fine “Der Schmied Aller Leben”. It has an energetic march tempo, steady without ever pressing on listeners, and the band plays with an audible hop in their figurative step. “Satisfied” is another of the album’s stronger rock moments and pursues a template similar to other tracks. Wellkers opens with a muted beginning before segueing into thunderous guitar and, even if it’s a common trajectory, it works, and listeners get to where they want to go – with a smile.
The album’s tenth track is a remix of the opener. famous now’s true finale is the song “Now I See, Now I Regret” and it shows, if nothing else, that Wellkers is never a slave to formula. It sustains much of the same intense lyrical mood prevalent throughout the earlier songs, but the relentless churn and charge of the arrangement brings the hammer down on listeners to end the collection. It’s emphatic and physical. Alex Wellkers has written and recorded a release you may love or dislike, but one thing is for sure – you will not be able to ignore famous now. The lightning bolt of inspiration present in his nine originals will jolt all but the most jaded of music listeners and keep you coming back for more.
Jodi Marxbury