Search - Bryan Masters :: Thundar the Boy Giant

"It took years of playing around the Wichita music scene for Bryan Masters to finally release his solo debut in 2001 (the beautiful and aptly titled So Low), and only a year to follow it up. Upon listening to Masters' new CD, Thundar the Boy Giant, one must concur that it was a year well-spent. In contrast to the spare, simple So Low, which featured nothing more than acoustic guitar and solo vocal, Thundar is a fully-fleshed and nearly seamless slab of catchy, intelligent folk-rock. The eleven songs herein are performed by an ensemble of some of Wichita's most venerable and accomplished players. With this dream team of fellow travelers, Masters has trumped himself. Thundar is that rarest of birds, a sophomore effort that eclipses the debut. Though So Low was truly a lovely piece of work, its spartan instrumentation and mostly-melancholy tone weren't exactly uplifting (hey, neither was Nebraska). With the addition of a band, not to mention carefully-crafted arrangements, Masters' heartfelt songs take on new life here, soaring to new heights, resounding to new depths. Mark Scheltgen's return as producer has a hand in this, as well. Thundar benefits from a modern approach to recording, and Scheltgen seems to have innate knob-twiddling skills. On top of his production duties, he contributed numerous instrumental performances to the album, including (horrors!) drum samples. Of course, any monkey can cut a slick-sounding record- all that takes is time and money. Bryan Masters has the distinct advantage of being able to consistently write material that can stand on its own two legs, regardless of the amount of studio butter slathered on. Thundar is a compelling record from beginning (it starts with what sounds like a very old, very scratchy gospel record) to end (the heartbreaking acoustic ultimatum "Last Song"), and it's because of the songs.