Imaad Wasif has been making some of the most heartfelt, creative and emotionally intense music for over a decade, you might just not recognize his name. What you might remember was the sometimes two-piece, sometimes three-piece gloomy indie rock institution known as Lowercase that Wasif headed as vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, or more recently you may have seen him touring with his band alaska! or playing guitar for the New Folk Implosion.
After all of these powerful musical projects, Wasif finally releases a solo record on Kill Rock Stars. The songwriting is, not surprisingly, much more intimate than anything he’s done previously. The mostly acoustic guitar based songs suck you in and make you feel as though you’re sitting in a room with Wasif as he plays these songs just for you.
This quieter collection of songs seems like the direction that the second alaska! album should have taken, instead of the more rock oriented album that was released shortly before that band’s demise. These songs sound soft and warm while conveying a terribly emotionally vulnerable tone that makes one wonder if at any point Wasif might just break down and become unable to continue playing. Luckily for us this doesn’t happen, and we get to reap the benefits of listening to a man on the edge lull us with his softly sung songs.
Chris Smith
Imaad Wasif (Kill Rock Stars)