reax music magazine :: music + culture » Reviews » Chris Letcher - Frieze

South Africa isn’t exactly considered a breading ground for singers and songwriters, but Chris Letcher is here to prove everyone wrong.  In the late 90’s, Letcher was in a band called Urban Creep, which hailed as one of the biggest rock bands in South Africa during their heyday.  He moved on to do more solo and collaborative projects, creating music for films and recently working with Dave Matthews and Xavier Rudd.  Along with all of this, he’s found time for his London-based band, Chris Letcher.

With their international debut, Frieze, Letcher demonstrates his songwriting abilities with great feeling and lyrical depth.  Some of the songs are short and leave you with some provoked emotion you had locked inside of you, while other songs like “Bad Shepherd” (my personal favorite), take you on a whimsical journey down an off-beaten path narrated by Mr. Letcher.  All of his slow, sweet poetry is strategically layered with synthesizers, guitar strumming, piano notes, and percussion to give you this lovely album. – Ashley Marie Sansotta