NW Noise Reviews
Ehren Ebbage - Ten Cent Souvenir
MP3 of Ehren Ebbage - Ten Cent Souvenir
Traditionally, I’m not a big fan of acoustic guitar music, it reminds me too much of summer camp sing-alongs and s’mores and almost every Christian “rock” band out there. Despite my bias, there were a few songs on Ehren Ebbage’s debut solo album, Ten Cent Souvenir, that led to obsessive repeat listens. My favorite track on the album was track two, “The Way She Does It”.
Ebbage’s sound reminds me a lot of Train’s lead singer Pat Monahan. They have a similar vocal style and probably would appeal to a similar audience. My feelings are mixed on this album as a whole, however. There were songs that I really got into and sincerely enjoyed listening to over and over. There were also a few songs that were dull and overly slow—“Snakes” and “Earthquakes“—but it was an interesting mix.
There’s no doubt that Ebbage is a phenomenally talented songwriter, his lyrics invoke colorful and extraordinary imagery and read like poems. The majority of his songs were influenced by events and experiences in his life, and his emotions and responses to those experiences are expressed beautifully through his words. Ebbage’s own work highly contrasts that of his work currently as a member of The Dimes, whose harmonious and upbeat songs experiment with a number of different instruments and sounds. Ebbage keeps his solo work pretty consistent, never much venturing out of the acoustic repertoire.
Overall, I liked this album despite some of slower tracks, but they are more than made up for with “The Way She Does It”, “Bury That Feeling”, and the title track “Ten Cent Souvenir”. My own personal music tastes tend to favor the slightly more upbeat sound Ebbage produces as a member of the Dimes, but his solo album is very well written and performed. Ehren Ebbage is a truly talented vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist, and it’s hard to nail all three of those down.
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