Beau Bowen – ‘The Great Anticlimax’ (2020)
Simply, the music speaks as much as the lyrics on Beau Bowen’s explosive debut album. Released on April 10, the album is a very unique experience with new tones and fascination free-falling from every edge. Bowen challenges the idea of rock-n-roll and is not afraid to push the envelope.
Bowen‘s determination is set on expanding the box rock-n-roll, and rock music in general, has been placed and sealed into. The album pushes the start of introducing more creative risk-taking in rock music. Pulling inspiration from several sources – Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator and endlessly more -, Bowen is determined to push the limits and challenge the very definition of rock music. The result is a strong, determined album that I guarantee is like nothing you have heard before!
To start, the song titles themselves are rather fascinating and create a strong wonder. The album title itself The Great Anticlimax creates a profound impact. Perhaps, a rather bold title but a beautiful one all the same. The titles are all intriguing from the title track to the finale “Bisolar Disorder.”
The music itself is a unique performance. I had had prior thoughts of Bowen’s greatness upon seeing live clips and snippets here and there, but it is all perfected in the studio and so much more than what I had expected! Dependent on a broad prog sound and fluttering into an almost cosmic rock sound, the overall sound makes its impact with stunning but brief instrumental interludes, explosive anthems, and a cohesive fascination all throughout.
There is a rather strong contrast between the songs. One tune will shift and divert into a bold anthem, and the next tune will linger into a lyrical ballad. In frequent cases, the song themselves will even have both elements, embarking on twists and turns that will surprise even a psychic. The overall effect is a very beautiful, rather haunting experience that fills the listener with pure adrenaline, leaving the listener to linger, mind on the lyrics, ears ringing from the pure energy of the bold guitar scattered across the tracks.
Despite the title, the album is not anticlimactic. From the first track, the energy builds as does curiosity and fascination. You think that you have figured out Bowen’s formula but at the final moment, he pulls the rug from under you as the music twists into another majestic passage. It is at its most superficial an entertaining album. At its most complex, it is a journey, a study into what rock music could be if artists were not afraid to push the envelope, look past the traditions, look past the commercial rock, and evolve into their own explosive sound. Bowen has done just that with his bold, explosive and all-fascinating debut. Not just an album, Bowen has risen out of the box of what rock is thought to be and created a new Phoenix, a rock-n-roll Renaissance. The Great Anticlimax should appeal to fans of 70s rock, fuzz guitars, and especially anyone eager to see the future of rock. Beau Bowen is a superstar on the rise. With an already established unique sound of fascination, Bowen has created a name for himself, and one can only have the debut on replay until the subsequent is released with dire excitement.
– Kim Pool
Beau Bowen – ‘The Great Anticlimax’ (2020)
