Nathan Turner - Nocturne for the Salty Moon
An EP review of Nathan Turner's Nocturne for the Salty Moon
EP review
Nocturne for the Salty Moon is the second indie-soul-folk EP by Nathan Turner. It's his first solo project in nearly 7 years.
Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 24, 2014
The EP's personnel has plenty of Vancouver jazz:
- Mike WT Allen on flute
- Jocelyn Waugh on trumpet
- Jen Davidson on saxophone
- Brendan Steele on keyboard
- Catherine Hiltz on bass
- Ian Cardona on drums
Jen and Brendan, in particular, are longtime collaborators for Nathan from his rambling twenties in the Canadian folk scene, which took him – after he graduated audio school – from here to rural northern Quebec. Some of his bands have been Red Haven, The Honey Tongues, and Logan & Nathan.
You can enjoy this EP in a straight shot; the tracks keep one mood running through all 19 minutes. Reverb soaks all the guitars and vocals.
The first two tracks have similar shapes. In track two, the flute solo is a highlight.
Nathan puts focus on "Head Full of Doubt", his featured single with a video:
Sometimes an artist wants to leave you wanting more, but for me this track went by too fast.
Instead, my favourite track is "All We Can Do" – with the simplest, grooviest bassline and some horn improvisation by Jocelyn Waugh and Jen Davidson that could've come off the Sister Jazz Orchestra stage.
And the final chord is a subtly confident choice to end on. Nocturne for the Salty Moon is sedentary but lovely listening from a well-travelled, still-young songwriter.
