Atop a piano’s melancholic melody, Daniel Tortoledo croons the words to the title track in his album Through out These Years as though the weight of the world lie on his shoulders. His execution is labored, but it unleashes what could be one of the more brooding piano-based ballads that I’ve had the chance to review this summer.
Alongside the chipper rhythm of “Eloise” and hesitant harmonies in “Spare Time,” songs like the namesake in Through out These Years paint us a picture of a self-conscious singer/songwriter in Daniel Tortoledo who sounds more than capable of connecting with an audience as diverse as the pastoral American countryside. From beginning to end, this player not only distinguishes his brand of folk-rock from the competition’s through intelligent verses and unique vocals, but actually imparts a piece of his soul to us through the melodic faceting driving home his every hook. This has been one of the best summers the singer/songwriter genre has experienced in a while, but among all of the treasures I’ve heard, this debut is far and away one of the most mature, and more importantly, most emotionally on-point.
Daniel Tortoledo. Dark Times (Brothers and Sisters)
Dark Times Music By Daniel Tortoledo- Panorama by Lill Martinez _____________________________________ Daniel Tortoledo www.danieltortoledo.com http://…
“Dark Times (Brothers and Sisters)” kicks off the album and sports a music video as suggestively gritty as it is strangely anti-surreal, but it doesn’t feel particularly intense or outside of the box when compared to any of the other tracks on this LP. “Not Too Late” grimaces with the sort of sonic scowl that made Neil Young a legend, but much like the squeaky-clean “Give Me Soul,” it avoids the indulgences of retro stylization by including a bit of post-2000’s irony unique to a modern generation of artists.
Even the instrumental “Intermission” feels more evocative than some of the dribble topping the pop charts this year has, and although it isn’t a direct concept album, there’s absolutely enough evidence within Through out These Years to suggest that Daniel Tortoledo has the ability to produce something progressive down the line. We can already deduce that he’s quite the storyteller just from listening to any of these nine songs; with the right space to cultivate his skillset, he could probably create a full-scale rock opera (or at least the alternative singer/songwriter equivalent of such an endeavor).
Through out These Years
Listen to Through out These Years on Spotify. Daniel Tortoledo · Album · 2019 · 9 songs.
From “You Can’t Have It All” to the gushing groove of “Bottle of Wine,” there aren’t any dull moments that require hitting the skip button in Through out These Years; on the contrary, however, there are quite a few instances in which you’ll probably feel compelled to play certain songs all over again. Try as you might, there’s no listening to this album all the way through and stepping away with a singular interpretation of its narrative more than once – it’s just too multidimensional an offering to afford us such a predictable listening session.
Daniel Tortoledo establishes himself as a creative force to be reckoned with in Through out These Years, and while I hadn’t heard of him before this LP, I’ll be sticking around for more in the wake of its success.
Clay Burton