Tom Ciurczak channels a sound of the past on debut album, "Call Me Ishmael"
Review by Austin Sher
Shared officially earlier this summer on July 24th, Tom Ciurczak unveiled his wonderful debut album Call Me Ishmael. Fans of Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle are going to love it! Read along for our thoughts on the record, in addition to a background on the artist himself.
Originally from New York, the artist is now living in one of the music capitals of the world, Los Angeles. Along with the rest of the world at the time, Tom witnessed The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show and he’s been playing and writing music ever since. His high energy sound has been described as a cross between Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle, who along with The Beatles he credits as his major influences. His current discography is combining all elements of music from Classic Rock, Folk, and Country to Blues and Jazz.
All throughout Call Me Ishamel, his lyrical themes feature a wide collection of colorful characters, that range from stalkers, smugglers and outlaws to liars, losers and thieves. His songs have often been compared to mini plays with surprise third act twists.
Right off the bat, our first impressions and expectations were blown out of the water after our full first listen through this record. Featuring an extremely diverse instrumentation, with so many instruments we lost count, the influences listed above so clearly come through and brought a wide grinned smile to our faces. As massive fans of Bruce, Steve, and The Beatles, it was like a culmination of the three, with a healthy dose of originality coming directly from Tom himself.
Coming in at a total of 12 songs, spanning just over an hour in run time, there is truly something for everyone on the album. First and foremost, lovers of a classic rock feel paired with truthful stories will eat this all right up. Primarily being guitar forward, we couldn’t help but be impressed with all the original riffs and rhythms thrown in as well. As most music lovers are, any usage of a horns section is also the quickest way for us to fall in love. For us, it always seem to be that missing part of a record that tends to bring it all together. So our hats are off to Tom for the inclusion of so many choices of instruments that were all strategically placed throughout.
While it would be nearly impossible to actually pick a favorite song off the record, we did have our favorites. Specifically, the album opener “Guys Like Me”, “Last Gunfighter”, “Down and Out in L.A.”, and “Winter Highland Falls” all immediately jumped out as beyond creative and memorable songs that we’ll certainly be going back to immediately.
With years of experience under his belt, it’s no surprise that this album is as good as it was. Considering Tom’s been following and involved in the music scene since the mid-60’s, we can only imagine that his experiences played a massive part within the lyricism as well. As impressive as the music sounds, the stories being told are a whole different side that deserves an extra listen. So in that case, listen twice!
With this all being said though, we cannot recommend or suggest listening to Call Me Ishmael enough. Take the time out of your day and listen, we promise you won’t regret it! For all things Tom Ciurczak, to listen, and to keep up with all future releases and information, please check out the following links below.
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