Mister Peculiar – “Things I’ll Never Learn”
Mister Peculiar is a singer, guitarist and songwriter who has been writing, recording and producing music for more than a decade now. He has released two full-length albums – “I should follow Steve’s thought”(2011) and “Changes”(2014), as well as 2 acoustic EPs all independently released. After the last few years spent collaborating with other artists Mister Peculiar is now coming back on his own with a new record that will be out by the end of this year, and a few singles to release along the way. The first of these, is “Things I’ll Never Learn” featuring Mister Peculiar on vocals, guitars, banjo, harmonica. He is supported by Felice Matozza (bass guitar), Vincenzo Matozza (percussion) and Laura Tibaldi (backing vocals).
There’s no question Mister Peculiar can rock and take on challenging concept themes, with complex fleshed out musical arrangements which has been evident on some previous releases, like “Changes”.
However, he has never been afraid to display his mellower, more acoustic side. “Things I’ll never learn” is among those tracks that take a more acoustic-driven and laid-back approach. It is influenced by folk, indie and Americana roots music.
Plenty of acoustic guitar can be heard throughout the “Things I’ll never learn”, while the backing music is full, warm and organic. The mood of the song is reserved and introspective. Mister Peculiar’s vocal style works well with this style of music.
He has a good range, and his voice has a lot of character. If you compare his vocals here with his previous work, he better incorporates subtle textural and dynamic elements into his singing now, giving it more emotional heft.
Lyrically, Mister Peculiar drops pearls of wisdom into his narrative: “I’ve stood up for my thought all my life, cause I’ve always deemed. A man’s worth is the dough he accepts in exchange for his dream. Though the reward is nothing but wounded pride.” But at the same time, he warns of his own infallibility: “There’s things I’ll never learn. But it’s my life and I let it go. Of how it comes to pass.”
Mister Peculiar’s finger picking guitar style is never in doubt throughout the song, as is his performances on the banjo and harmonica. His playing is nuanced, but clean and precise. It shows how much control he has over his instruments and his music, in general.
This results in a mellow and sweet track that surprisingly works excellently. It becomes clear that when Mister Peculiar gets into a deep thinking mode, he gets out the acoustic guitar, and turns out tracks like “Things I’ll never learn”.
With this track, Mister Peculiar reaches deep and delivers big. He lays his heart on his sleeve. He bares his soul and he opens up to his audience. “Come across an old saying. Said ‘No matter what the problem is, a smart man always finds his way to get to where he needs’. Food for thought, but for tonight I’ll kill my wine.”
In closing, it must be said that all the musicians, production team, mastering team, the studio, mixing team; they all complement each other in this track. And when each one works as a team, the result is what you will find out by listening to “Things I’ll never learn”.
