Kalispell’s sophomore album release Printer’s Son, an old-fashioned soft folk piece, is the child of a Milwaukee raised instrumentalist Shane Leonard and a Kickstarter page raising over $15,000 from local fans. Shane Leonard recently finished a tour in the UK, playing alongside artists such as Sean Carey and Larry Campbell. Growing up in Milwaukee, Leonard would make trips to see local jazz shows in Chicago, where he fell in love with music. The album’s first track is appropriately named as such, “In Chicago,” and is a strong instrumental track that is reminiscent of the Chicago folk scene. As a former music professor at Yale, Printer’s Son shows Leonard’s levels of musical comprehension that is the selling point of this album. This sophistication can get lost at times throughout the album as some songs just don’t gather enough attention and some tracks sound like a poor attempt at being the next James Taylor or Vance Joy. Overall, this album didn’t prompt a return to Kalispell’s creepy yet meaningful lyrics or tranquil synths, but rather a sense of waiting for the track to end.
Recommended If You Like: James Taylor, Vance Joy
Recommended Tracks: Track One (“In Chicago”), Track Seven (“Printer’s Son”)
Do Not Play: None
Written by Cole Francis on 09/07/2016
This album never made me want to return to Kalispell’s creepy yet meaningful lyrics or tranquil synths, but rather wait until the next track