One of my favorite movies of all time is L.A Confidential. The Curtis Hanson 1997 neo-noir detective film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel was just downright riveting. In my opinion every frame is pitch perfect as is every performance by an impressive cadre of actors such as Kevin Spacey, Russel Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger and Danny Devito. For me it was Pearce and Crowe's slow burning to scorched earth performances that blew me away. I have probably seen this movie 17 times and it still engages me every time. While I had seen Guy Pearce in "The Adventures of Priscilla- Queen of the Desert" years prior it was his stunning performance in L.A. Confidential that permanently etched in my brain. So many memorable performances followed.
Because I am such a big fan of Guy Pearce the actor, it was with some trepidation that I hit play on Guy Pearce the singer / musician. His debut album, Broken Bones, is set to release worldwide in 2015. The singles "Storm" and "Taste" have just dropped along with the official videos for both. "Taste" is a sultry power pop affair with a spartan heavy bass production. Pearce's vocal performance is a cool blend of whispers and husky grittiness. Dynamically rich, when the track builds I thought of Muse or Audioslave although Pearce steers a bit softer. Still his voice is a bit in that Chris Cornell / Matthew Bellamy box. Pearce has pipes, he really does but even more importantly he has a character / quality in his voice that pulls you in. The official "Taste" video is directed by award-winning film maker Mackenzie Sheppard. It feels both spacey and grounded as Pearce often times bracing himself in a slowly spinning compartment while slow motion Hong Kong opulence collide with urban imagery. The video is interesting to be sure but not more so than the song itself which shines more and I guess that is how it should be.
The video for Storm, directed by Melbourne based film maker Michael Shanks is surreal and mostly based in Van Gogh-ish blue. On first listen, I enjoyed the track "Taste" more. "Storm" (while it has it's share of musical flair) is less edgy than "Taste" and as such could of used less production. I would of liked to hear it more rough around the edges, less perfectly wrought. All that perfection to some degree mutes the life and passion out of it.
On both tracks I must say that Guy Pearce's vocals do shine and do make me want to hear more from him. Obviously an accomplished singer I would love to hear him do some tracks that are a bit heavier or lean toward an indie maybe even garage rockish edge. I think he has that kind of voice deep down inside.
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Robb Donker
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