29 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Will Saunders - Album Review: Inside Walking

19 Nov 2018 // A review by emilyriordan

Auckland based musician and visual artist Will Saunders has three solo albums under his belt already. His latest release, Inside Walking, is self-produced and mastered by Dave Hine at The Dank.

Inside Walking kicks off with an energetic title track and just doesn’t let up. Its eight songs, each under three-minutes in length, are a relentless blend of aggressive guitar riffs, punkish drums, and psychedelic vocals, with barely a moment to catch a breath. Albums are often described as a journey of some sort, but this one is an exclamation point.

While at first listen, this album sounds unapologetically optimistic, Saunders’ lyrics are often introspective, occasionally bordering on grim. Saunders himself calls the project his "latest attempt to portray the shaky navigation through these strange days we all live within".

There is a real Kiwi punk sound to Will Saunders’ voice that sets his music apart from similar artists. Perhaps most impressively, he manages to harness the full force of a band by himself, with layered vocals and a tireless, commanding delivery. The odd flourish of a bar of reversed drums or what sounds like some sort of old-timey radio voiceover adds a finishing touch.

Consistency is a key strength of Inside Walking - in style, quality, and energy. No single track stands above the rest, though specific riffs and hooks will make some tracks more immediately memorable to different listeners. Chances are good that those who enjoyed the singles released so far - Over and Over, The Less You Know, and Ashes - will appreciate the album in its entirety.

This is hard and fast music with a homemade edge for those who like their punk a little bit grown up. Inside Walking is due for release on November 30th.

 

About Will Saunders

Will Saunders is a solo musician writing, recording, producing and performing his music live.

He has released four full length albums and ten solo EP's.

He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for Auckland bands The Quick and the Dead, Bearhat and The Lowest Fidelity.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Will Saunders

Releases

Oh It's A Sound
Year: 2019
Type: EP
All That Has Ever Been
Year: 2019
Type: EP
Inside Walking
Year: 2018
Type: Album
Hopeful Objects
Year: 2017
Type: Album
Covers Four
Year: 2017
Type: EP
Nothing Wrong
Year: 2016
Type: EP
Love Is For Others
Year: 2014
Type: Album
Artworks Theatre Live
Year: 2014
Type: Album

Other Reviews By emilyriordan

Lexytron - Single Review: Couples
24 Oct 2019 // by emilyriordan
Auckland singer-songwriter Lexytron’s fourth single Couples is a catchy, upbeat song about the loneliness that singledom can bring. Lexytron says “sometimes being alone is liberating but sometimes it downright sucks”, and Couples embraces the downright suck side of being alone, in a song with a much lighter feel than her releases to date.
Read More...
Ashley Alexander - Single/Video Review: Nicotine
18 Oct 2019 // by emilyriordan
Paraparaumu’s Ashley Alexander introduces his second single, Nicotine, a jazzy, slickly produced number accompanied by a delightful music video.Following up from debut single Best Song, Nicotine builds on Ashley’s funky sound with a piano-centric arrangement featuring lush backing vocals and infectious beats.
Read More...
The Kendals - Single Review: Passion
08 Oct 2019 // by emilyriordan
Auckland three-piece The Kendals have released their debut single Passion, a dreamy synth-pop track looking at the experience of falling in love from a different angle. The Kendals are Lucia Zara, Michael Redwood, and James Dalton.
Read More...
Gig Review: James Reid @ 4th Wall Theatre, New Plymouth - 18/09/2019
29 Sep 2019 // by emilyriordan
On a quiet Wednesday night, singer-songwriter James Reid (best known as the frontman of Kiwi icons The Feelers) brings his Songbook Tour to the 4th Wall Theatre in New Plymouth.The theatre is packed and the stage is set sparsely with a chair, an amp, two guitars, and a songbook on a stand.
Read More...
Gig Review: Hunt the Witch @ The Mayfair, New Plymouth - 20/07/2019
14 Aug 2019 // by emilyriordan
Auckland four-piece rock outfit Hunt the Witch brought their 'Strange Gods' tour to New Plymouth’s Mayfair on July 20th, promoting the album of the same name. Strange Gods is Hunt the Witch’s first full-length release, following 2015’s EP Into the Black and 2017’s single Afterburner.
Read More...
Gig Review: Albi & The Wolves @ Kakaramea Hall - 27/07/2019
14 Aug 2019 // by emilyriordan
Alt-folk trio Albi & The Wolves, led by vocalist and guitarist Chris Dent, have been making waves throughout New Zealand in the last several years - and for good reason. They brought their show to Kakaramea Hall, just south of Hawera in Taranaki, supported by Swiss-Kiwi loop artist Sonic Delusion.
Read More...
Unknown - Single/Video Review: Gambling on Love
08 Apr 2019 // by emilyriordan
Three Feathers are an Oakura duo established in 2013 and made up of Mike Lee and Mae Silver. Gambling on Love is the third single from their debut album, which is due for release later in 2019.
Read More...
Iris - Single Review: Bold
27 Feb 2019 // by emilyriordan
At just twenty years of age, singer/songwriter and producer Iris has burst onto the scene looking and sounding like an almost fully formed pop star. Her debut single, Bold, is part of a collaboration with producer and filmmaker Charles Lutman made of videos that are as much short films in themselves as they are music videos.
Read More...
View All Articles By emilyriordan

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem