Dave Phillips' 1887-1905 bears a rich and expansive sound

Dave Phillips
1887-1905 (Independent)

Unpleasant things happen in the songs of Dave Phillips. Children die, loved ones leave and don’t come back. Graves are visited and tearful memories exhumed. But that doesn’t mean the Vancouver singer-songwriter’s debut EP, 1887-1905, is unpleasant to listen to. In fact, the four-song disc, produced by multiple-Juno winner Ben Mink, bears a rich and expansive sound, with Phillips’s just-right emotive vocals and ringing acoustic guitar surrounded by warm electric piano, organ, and what sounds like Mellotron string arrangements. Heck, there’s even a burst of wiry electric rock during the bridge of “Come Back to Me”.

It’s nice stuff and it deserves to be heard, but taken as a whole the EP is admittedly a bit of a downer. You’ve got to wonder if Phillips might find a wider audience if he lightened up a little. Hey, it worked for Dan Mangan!

In the meantime, Phillips will be singing his sad songs at Little Mountain Gallery on Sunday (June 13) and at the Railway Club next Friday (June 18).

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