DARYLE STEPHEN ACKERMAN
Attention to Detail
Self-Released 2008
www.myspace.com/daryleackerman

5 Questions with Daryle Ackerman

While I don't find this CD to be all that bad, I do wish Ackerman would have heeded the title he gave his own work and paid a little more attention to the little details that slightly undermine his music on this CD. For one thing, the subject matter Ackerman chooses to discuss (infedelity, love gone wrong, life's romantic complexities) deserves a little edge, I believe. Ackerman has decided instead to infuse most of these songs with a more lackadaisacal singsong type of melodic sense that makes me feel he's not living these stories as much as relating them, telling them to us but not feeling them himself.

Sure, I guess it's possible to remain somewhat detached when telling stories such as these. Maybe if he's singing them as a character, but I am thinking if he felt these stories, or just made us believe he's actually lived them or know about them in any shape or form beyond just singing words, these songs would have more connection with an audience. Part of being an artist is drawing people in, making them believe in what your saying so there can be empathy and a relating of some sort. So, it was hard for me to get into this music, despite Ackerman's obvious strengths as a storyteller. Make no mistake, he's talented - I would compare his music to that of the early work of Kevin Ayers but without the convincing performance needed to sell the work.

As it is, this is a decent CD to sit and listen to but if you're looking to rock out or are needing something with energy, this is not the CD you want. This might be a better disc to listen to on a Saturday night at 4 am or a Sunday afternoon.

Rating: out of 5

--Scott Homewood