William Chong

Ethan Waters: A Demo By EP

100% acoustic songs and the continuation of a nostalgic search-for-love narrative. A-. (Update 20/11: The fact that it’s still a repeated feature on my music playlist means I must give credit where credit is due!)

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John Lennon once said that “everything is clearer when you’re in love”, and Ethan Waters heartily affirms this in his latest EP, A Demo By.

The Auckland University graduate film student – also known as Dennis Liu in the daylight hours – made a last-minute change to an album that initially promised a graduation into the daring pop music world. A Demo By now offers five brand-new tracks: a reprise of his tried-and-true acoustic sound that’s at times familiar, but earnest and genuine all the same.

As the natural sequel of his debut EP, Crushes and Waves, this EP picks up right from where the last one ended (even carrying over some of his previous melodies). At first you wonder how much more about life and love Waters can expand on – but Waters reassures us right from The Reminder that he’s got more to sing about.

Waters presents the kind of love songs that you’d play to your significant other on a guitar, accompanied by the picnic basket and blanket overlooking scenic innocence. He’s on the verge of asking her out in Vacancy, sincerely asking “if there’s a vacancy in your heart”. And there’s Tailoring Me, a secular psalm that’s an odd juxtaposition between platonic and romantic love, the lyrics swathed with wistfulness akin to John Mayer’s Daughters.

Waters is a touch more forthcoming with his influences in this EP: All Your Different Names is tender, earnest and half Glen Hansard elegy, half David Tao ballad (without the vagaries of Mandarin lyrics). His choruses are as always full of gentle hooks, whether it’s declaring that “I’m not ready for you to relax…”, or serenading to “Constance, you’re just Constance”. There’s even the pleasant surprise of some beautiful violin-playing that introduces listeners to his classically-trained side.

Admittedly, A Demo By still has a reliance on lyric-writing that’s closer to scattered short-story prose. The words can at times drift perilously those to Evermore-style existentialism (e.g. “Floating in a ‘blind me’ kind of way | across the universal skies”). And the closing track Maybe You’ll Sing gives a less conclusive ending than in his previous EPs. Yet there’s no doubting that this is an album that’s been diligently crafted: it’s wonderfully and fearfully made in a way that captures the nostalgia of dreamy college years.

If you were anticipating from Waters a metamorphosis into a pop star, then stifle your disappointment and take some bated breaths. Waters has promised fans digital single releases for the future – in his own words, “you’re a reminder that I should never stop writing.”

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Contact the artist: waters dot ethan (at) gmail dot com
For music videos and more visit: www.ethanwaters.com; www.myspace.com/ethanwaters

Disclosure: Dennis Liu is a close friend; there are no financial relationships to declare.
Contact the author: lemmingz@gmail.com

Ethan Waters: Crushes and Waves EP

A college pop audio film about fleeting short distance relationships. B+.

Up and coming singer-songwriter Ethan Waters, who also goes by the pseudonym of Dennis Liu, is onto something. His first EP, Crushes and Waves is a self-described concept album in true singer-songwriter vein providing a well-rounded mélange of college pop.

Centred on the ubiquitous “that girl” narrative, Waters (currently an Honours film student at Auckland Uni) sings earnestly. He dubs and redubs subtle-yet-significant layers of thoughtful guitar-based instrumentation through the songs. He plays it safe with pleasing acoustic riffs and a rather conservative range of keys, accompanied with smart lyrics that draw on frequent music and film references. His voice is mellow and the music is all him, down to the almost toy-like drum loops. But don’t be surprised to hear clarinets and strings mixed with victorious brass buildups when he sings about spaceships.

Crushes and Waves is an admirable achievement that explores love. He asks, “What do we have to lose anyway?” in Untitled, a mix of Bloc Party rhythm and Jay Chou-style sensitivity. He talks about what’s missing in life in Before we wake, in true never-been-jilted fashion. This is very much a collection of tracks with an underlying, infectious enthusiasm – One Day stands out with its optimism and fairground-fun beats.

Waters doesn’t shy from the soulful or the reflective however – with Where to go’s nostalgic echo drums underpinning heartfelt lyrics, he asks “Am I close to the place that everyone calls love?” The EP’s arc draws a journey of budding love, from the first “Let’s do this before we wake…” to the last “…you were part of every doubt” – almost a tear-jerking moment as the CD spins down.

Yes, there are concerns – Heart on my sleeve could have broken ranks from its Green Day-Time of my Life guitar strums and step towards a new and daring youth anthem (in the “Oo wo-oh, oo wo-oh”). There’s voice-range issues, just a bit too much of recitative-like lyrics in One of those girls, and some awkwardly sung meter (like when the girl has “absolutely no acting chops”). But maybe Waters’s bold musical enjambments are just what we need in among today’s recycle-pop and hollow top 40 tracks. And if his upcoming music and film works are any indication, this guy’s just getting started.

One Day Music Video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbvw0q6h-1U
Website – http://www.ethanwaters.com/
Artist contact – waters dot ethan at gmail dot com

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This review was published in Issue #3 of Craccum magazine on 17 March 2008.

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