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Willis Earl Beal is a bit of anomaly.
The Chicago born singer-songwriter bounced around various parts of the US, auditioned for X-Factor and left CD-Rs and flyers for people to ring him so he could sing them a song in his wake.
Then the man who claimed he wants to be the ‘black Tom Waits’ signed with XL.
Acousmatic Sorcery is a collection of recordings from the last few years. Crudely recorded, with mostly home made instruments, it has a real outsider feel.
Beal likes to experiment and the album jumps from style to genre at will. What is apparent is the Windy City native’s impressive voice throughout.
On Monotony, Evening Kiss and Sambo Joe from Rainbow, he adopts a soothing, folksy whisper, accompanied by only by a few notes from a barely-tuned acoustic.
The haunting smoothness of these tracks quickly fades away on Take Me Away, where the Waits influences come howling through and on Swing On Low he adopts a primitive form of rap.
Bright Copper Noon is more soul based and soul and blues seem to be some of the main influences of Beal’s body of work, although in its most raw form.
Beal has the tools to be a force in the world of music.
Songs will have to be shaped better but the talent is undeniable and even amongst the more experimental tracks he proves on Evening Kiss that he has an ear for a more conventional sound as well.
Acousmatic Sorcery is raw and alive, the work of an artist who doesn’t yet know his true direction.
The lyrics are not the most intricate you will hear, but the desire and innovation should see Willis deliver more complete albums in the future.