Eric C. Powell & Andrea Powell - The Getaway
Review by Karl Magi
Overall Album Impressions
Eric C. Powell & Andrea Powell’s The Getaway captures intense feeling through strong vocal performances, expressive songwriting and a background full of interesting musical details and unique synth sounds. Emotional engagement and expression are a hallmark of this album along with vocals that are able to capture the feeling in the lyrics the artists have written. I enjoy the way in which the musical backing enhances and shapes the atmosphere of the album.
Both Andrea Powell and Eric C. Powell bring their own unique vocal styles to The Getaway. Andrea Powell has a resonant, warm voice underpinned by strength and Eric C. Powell’s voice ranges from breathy tenderness to soaring heights. Each artist uses their voice to good effect in capturing the different emotions within their songwriting. I am also drawn to the way in which their voices work together when they share vocal duties.
The Getaway also showcases the pair's songwriting abilities. Each song has a knack for capturing emotion and conveying it to the listener. There is a core of feeling that I find hard to resist in these songs. Their approach to songwriting cuts to the heart and lays feelings bare in a clear way. The songs pull me in and hold my attention as they unfold and I enjoy the journey on which they take me.
A tapestry of interesting synths makes The Getaway a pleasing listening experience. There's a plethora of rich tonal colours and ear grabbing sounds moving through the music, adding support to the singing on the album. The atmospheric synths deepen all of the emotion and expression present in the music.
My Favourite Tracks Analyzed
“Soul to Your Heart (Icy Blue Mix)” begins as piercingly gleaming chimes ring out as wind sweeps and gruff bass undulates. A rolling, expanding synth pattern with an angular quality moves out above the slicing bass and now drums tap in to add more form. Cascading notes tumble through with clean light and the drums drive on as lustrous synth flashes through the music.
Andrea Powell’s strong, expressive voice carries the dynamic melody. Eric C. Powell has a dreamy quality in his voice, tinged by pain as he joins in. Lambent chimes flicker with clear radiance as the drums in bass drive on. Andrea Powell has a mid-range voice with an engaging tone that expresses the lyrics well.
Brightness fills the music from the glinting notes that ring out. A sweeping sound flickers through the music and Eric C. Powell ably captures deep yearning in his voice. Gigantic notes swell upwards with a powerful flow. A leaping synth and radiant chimes combine to add energy. Andrea Powell skillfully captures the emotion in the music. Their voices mingle in a rich flow before the rough bass and punching drums bring the song to an end along with flaring luminosity.
Our first narrator says that when she looks in the mirror she sees the song’s subject. Now “the image grows clearer” and she sees blue because “you are the only one.”The second narrator says that he “sold my soul to your heart” and now he's coming apart. The first narrator says that the other person was the only one for her.
The first storyteller says that she found the past in a picture that was hidden away. She states that she'd “give my soul to have your love today.” She points out that the other person was the only one for her. She's staring out the window wondering “is this me?” Both storytellers continue by saying that They sold their souls and ask if they'll ever be set free. She concludes "now I'm the only one.”
Rapidly throbbing, pulsing bass and broadly shining synth with an angular feeling bursts in to start “The Station.” Eric C. Powell and Andrea Powell mingle their strongly expressive voices and a vocal melody, full of longing unfolds. Solid drums throb, bass oscillates far below and the song moves forward.
Both vocalists ably imbue the music with deep emotion as bursting synth flashes, flowing into a sweeping melody that is uplifting and caressing. The throbbing drum and bass pulsation moves again as rain falls behind the emotive vocals and the touching lyrics. Dynamic synths carry surging energy as the song ends.
Our two narrators exchange verses. He starts out by saying that as he’s waiting at the station “I see you, I don't know what to say.” She says, as they stand in the falling rain, that “there's the last call, you know I cannot stay.” Together they express their love for one another and both say “never forget you.” They know that “this is the last time I will hold you” and they realize that it couldn’t last.
Our male narrator asks her if she remembers that “we promised we would cherish every single day” to which the female narrator replies that she sees “the lie now in our eyes” that they could “go our separate ways.” He wonders if “there’s any other way” and as her tears fall “in the downpour” she says that they can’t throw it all away.”
Once again, they talk about how each is the other's true love and they’ll never forget each other. There’s more hope now as they say that “it's not the last time I will hold you. We need to make this last!” As the song ends, they repeat “We need to make it last. We will make it last.”
“World Falls Away” commences as full piano carries an aching melody while low strings create a smoothly shifting pulse. A violin-led string section rises above the lower parts in an aching melody. Eric C. Powell’s vocals are deeply felt, soaring out over the steady string motion and the piano’s rich notes as distant electronic sounds add shape.
Eric C. Powell’s voice matches the pain in the vocals and the strings swirl before Andrea Powell’s voice adds support to his. The piano melody hurts and hopes, strings yearn and electronic sounds skitter and twist. Strings take up the pained melody as metallic notes form a cascading line. Eric C. Powell’s voice is emotive and the piano melody keeps on flowing. The strings ripple and climb as the piano hurts and the bass guides the music to a conclusion.
The narrator talks about how we are all holding on to “the things that were ours” and to “the light of the stars.” He asks plaintively about what can be said when “the world falls apart in your hands.” Our narrator hears the sadness in another’s voice as a loss of choice is being sold.
He asks what can be said “when the world falls away from our hands.” He talks about how people are alone as they search through the lies while there’s an “endless drone” that blinds us all. Ultimately the narrator asks, “What can we say when the world turns away in the end.”
Digital sounding, tender synth slowly flows out with a similar gentleness to the original as this cover of Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson’s “Winter Song” opens. Reverent, glowing notes rise in the distance before the solid drums and deep bass add a smooth pulse. Luminous bells ring out with metallic light as the low end pulse shapes the music. Eric C. Powell’s voice is deep and resonant, carrying the mournful but hoping vocals above the warmly intertwining parts below it.
Andrea Powell’s caressing vocals join Eric C. Powell’s as they both convey all of the need and ache in the lyrics. Like the original, this music combines affection with a sense of loss. A piano doubles the vocals and clean, radiant chimes permeate the music. Both singers bring their voices together with hopeful caring as they move above the glowing background.
String-like notes contribute even more delicate emotion. Bells softly ring in the distance to create a wintry feeling as the piano descends. Andrea Powell’s voice touches my ears softly before Eric C. Powell’s voice also comes in. I enjoy the interplay of the two singers. Swelling illumination fills the distance as the bells call out all encompassing light before the song ends.
“Always Over You (Secrets Remix)” starts out as galactic, twinkling notes drift through deep bass waves. Andrea Powell''s voice calls out with heartfelt depth as solid drum pulses drift into openness. Now the drums and bass throb along with round-sounding, pulsating synth. Andrea Powell's voice is now joined by Eric C. Powell as it carries a yearning, touching melody out over the low end pulse.
There's a giant, broadly sweeping synth that bounces through the music as the drums burst. A metallic sound adds an accent as Andrea Powell’s floating vocals are supported by Eric C. Powell’s. Drums and bass throb below scintillating notes trickling through the music as the two singers' voices carry the chorus. A string section carries a melody full of wonderfully expressive feeling as the punching drums drive the music forward.
Angular notes cut through and Andrea Powell’s warm toned, echoing vocals call out over metallic tapping. The drums flourish again and the low end pushes forward as Eric C. Powell's voice moves in the background. Eric C. Powell's voice takes up the chorus, deeper and more resonant, as Andrea Powell sings out above it. The drums and bass keep pulsating with weighty emotion and Eric C. Powell’s voice cuts in between. The low end has muscle in it as the ethereal vocals drift out above it and silence falls.
Our storyteller says that the place in which she finds herself is all shades of gray and “the colours hide their hue inside the secrets of the day.” Those colours lead her back to the song's subject. She adds that she is “falling, always over you.” The narrator says that she’ll let “my soul reveal the pain and lead me to the truth." She wishes that she could find a way back home to the other person.
Computerized voices echo out into open space as a hi-hat takes to start “The Getaway.” A powerful engine revs and the insistent base pulsates as Eric C. Powell opens the song with his strong voice and Andrea Powell's voice now comes in to carry a dynamic melody above the throbbing drums and bass along with the delicately drifting background notes. Eric C. Powell and Andrea Powell wind their voices together to carry the chorus with intensely expressed emotion.
The gliding background slips out with caressing luminosity above the massive drum beat. The two singers mix their voices together with engaging emotion before the robotic voices are joined by the snarling engine sound. Eric C. Powell's voice calls out and Andrea Powell’s joins it with expression and passion. The drums and bass keep pulsating as Andrea Powell opens the next line before the flaring synth notes add their gleaming radiance.
Strings intertwine with resonating emotion as the pumping drums in base create forward motion. as fragile notes with a digital quality flicker out the robotic voices move behind them and trumpeting synth leaps out with energizing motion while the smooth engine roars.
Now the two singers' voices soar with the strings intertwining around them while the drums burst in. before the drum beat kicks in again and both singers carry the chorus. The song ends with the vocals flying out above the swelling strings and sparkling notes.
The first narrator says that he needs to get away into the other person's arms so "sound the alarm.” He says that they should just drive. The second narrator says that she has to get away and wants to “confess that I need to get away from this mess.” Both narrators say that they have to get away into the night.
The two storytellers say that “we can drive all night until the dawn, we’ll drive far away until we're gone.” They say that they'll be together and they can drive forever so “this will be our getaway song.”
The first narrator says that they need to get away before time runs out and “we need to get away, (it's) time to escape.”
“Saturn” comes into being as spaced out, echoing notes tremble with digital sounds riggling in the background. A slowly gliding, soft-edged synth wraps around rough bass that pulses in slow undulation, as the whole track slips along smoothly. A nasal-sounding, elevated synth carries a melody with a positive sensation already emanating from it above the solid bass pulse.
Now the drums come in with propulsive strength as the bass growls and the upper end sounds swirl together easily. The main melody has a bouncing feeling in it, unfolding in the music with dynamic encouragement as string-like synth intertwines. Slowly moving, taut synth dances through the music as the nasal-sounding lead slowly wanders with an ethereal quality.
The drums and bass add shape to the music as they throb. The main melody slips through with active motion as bright sounds twinkle. Bass undulates now as a ghostly synth floats through the music with delicate smoothness. I enjoy this track's balance of sonic elements.
There's a slightly ominous feeling from the bass as it descends and moves in bursts with a gruff sound. In the distance, sounds interlock with gliding ease and percussion taps into the music. Brightness swells and climbs as the tightly wound, nasal-sounding synth calls out before silence falls.
Conclusion
The Getaway draws me in with its mixture of excellent vocal performances, thoughtful songwriting and a musical background that both complements and enhances the other elements on the album. I enjoyed the listening experience while reviewing this music.
