When country meets folk meets rock you get Andy Swan, and surprisingly, his sound is quite impressive. Swan's simple lyrics about love and life resound with truth. ...nearly idle tracks like Belt Buckle that will have listeners spacing out into vast nothingness. But despite this, Ottawa is definitely a worthwhile listen for the rare occasion you're in need of some folk music. - Joan Mendoza Youthink magazine
THE GLOBE AND MAIL- "On a baker's dozen of cosmic country tunes, Andy Swan does no wrong." - Brad Wheeler
NATIONAL POST- "...there's lots of beautiful and wistful country pop, which sounds as if it was piped in from years ago by a collection of heartbroken Nashville session players, lost in the ByWard Market on a snowy night." - Michael Lawson
EXCLAIM!- "Swan's unerring ear for light and deceptively simple melody thrives no matter what the genre and, finally laying himself bare, he hopefully won't be a secret too much longer." - Chris Whibbs
Eye magazine - 4 stars! http://www.eyeweekly.com/music/ondisc/article/8619
"His simple melodies are never rushed, and his country songs uses just
enough folk and just enough hoke (No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service) to
please the most cynical ear."
Full Review
"In just over a half an hour, Swan plays thirteen songs whose choruses get
comfortably nestled into your head the second you hear them."
Full Interview
"If you're looking for an antidote to all the over-produced, over-hyped
next-not-so-big-things ramping up to get their releases in before year's
end, then jump on the bandwagon zooming up the Trans-Canada highway
heading straight for Ottawa's fresh sounds."
Full Review
Andy Swan's Ottawa is one of the more charming flying-under-the-radar releases I've heard this year. Swan adds charm to his already-sweet songwriting with lulling folk and old-time country instrumentation. http://theglorioushum.blogspot.com/2007/12/andy-swan-ottawa.html
Ottawa is an album of diverse and endearing ditties that only gets more likeable with each listen..... http://www.wolveshawksandkites.com/?s=andy+swan
Intricate and deep, soothing and provocative, and so much more, I highly recommend this release.... http://berkeleyplace.wordpress.com/?s=andy+swan
It's one of those CD's you can tell was a blast to make, and that sense of fun comes through big time in the tunes. Highly recommended. http://www.scenemagazine.com/pdf/web-issue556.pdf
While other artists offer recordings that are overdubbed and overproduced to death, Swan and his pals create simple, pleasing, toe-tapping pop that seems to come straight from the heart. His lyrics are thoughtful and intriguing...offering many interesting twists and turns. The more we spin Ottawa...the better it sounds. Cool, classy tracks include "If My Daddy Could See Me Now," "Can I Pay You With Sunshine?," "Belt Buckle," and "The Sound of Snowflakes Falling." Great stuff. http://www.babysue.com/2008-Jan-LMNOP-Reviews.htmlanchor15474It is so mellow it borders on one long catatonic state. Being heralded as old fashioned country meets rock, Andy Swan's Ottawa appears to me to be more influenced by flower power subculture. Mind you, if you wanted to hear Steeleye Span or Gordon Lightfoot, you might just as well buy the originals.
Andy Swan's Ottawa isn't a terrible collection, it just comes across as ultra-mellow, sloppy, little import on lyrics and lacking in features or uniqueness.http://www.anevibe.com/music-reviews/andy-swan-andy-swans-ottawa.html
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| WHY / WHY NOT: For his sophomore album, Andy Swan lets loose with unabashed country, and Ottawa delivers with outstanding results. With a striking similarity to, and surely influenced by Gram Parsons, Bill Monroe, and Kris Kristofferson, Swan delivers a genuine, endearing and excellent country album, clearly demonstrating that he is a strong songwriter with colossal potential. His many hooks pull the listener in, all the while giving a true sense of his humour, self-deprecation and lonesomeness. "If My Daddy Could See Me Now" is a great, straightforward country song that could have easily been on The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Other standouts include the double-voice tracking of "Can I Pay You with Sunshine," which provides a unique harmonic effect to the up-tempo song. "Brian Jones" is a complementary gesture to the founder and creative visionary of the Rolling Stones, but "Maybe It's Love" is the strongest song on the album, which features a great mandolin melody and a beautiful duet with Kyla Dowden. This is an impressive album, to say the least. - Chris Brisbane -Soundproof | ||
It's an unaccustomed jubilance in this amber-streaked folk song; Andy Swan finds the kind of melody he's not used to finding, the sort of love-story that doesn't usually come his way. "It seems impossible / or just improbable / that you waited your whole life / to love the likes of me." Like he can't get over the fact that he gets to use this jangle, this jangle, the happiest looking-glass kind. Like he can't get over the fact that he put the telescope to his eyes, pointed it out over the city, and found someone signalling to him from their roof - flashing the lights of her apartment on & off & on, the easiest Morse code.
http://www.saidthegramophone.com/archives/snap_a_twig_for_me_darlin.php
http://news.guelphmercury.com/arts/article/296685
I was born and spent my formative years in Ottawa. Not the capital city of Canada but (rather) a small town in central Illinois at the confluence of the Illinois and Fox rivers. Even still, I feel a bit of a connection to Ottawa, Canada despite never having been there. That might have been an unnecessary and long-winded introduction, but I think it ties nicely into my review of Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Swan's latest album Andy Swan's Ottawa. It is a bit country and a bit folk; a little stomping and a lot subdued. At times Andy Swan's Ottawa even recalls a little Jeff Tweedy and old-school Wilco-isms.
It is a charming and low-key affair from a great songwriter that no one (yet) seems to know about. His twangy country pop is sentimental and languid but also playful and spirited. Andy Swan certainly surprised me with this heartfelt album that also reminds me of destinations much further south such as Nashville or North Carolina (the Avett Brothers come to mind as does john Strohm). Andy Swan's Ottawa is a fitting soundtrack to the lengthening days and the approaching thaw. http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/2008/03/review-andy-swans-ottawa.html