Ships - Danielson

Ships – Danielson
9/10

No matter what type of music you are a fan of, odds are you probably haven’t heard of Daniel Smith despite his voluminous output with his various projects; Danielson, Danielson Famile, and Bro. Danielson to name the main ones. For something like a decade Smith has spearheaded each of these projects, with most of the output being from Danielson Famile. Simply meaning Danielson Family in French, it is basically a band made up mostly of his family members. His brothers and sisters play large parts on these albums, with Smith providing most of the creative inspiration for his siblings to help him bring to life by the use of varied instrumentation and his effervescent, almost obnoxiously high falsetto. It comes quite near a shriek at the most exuberant times, and this turns many people off of Smith’s various projects. When you get over the pitch, you realize that he is using his voice like another instrument, simply adding another sound to the music. One, which is worth noting, that provides consistently profound, often veiled lyrics on the Christian life. Most secular reviews do not pick up on the often deeply insightful lyrical abilities of Smith, as it talks mainly about situations and emotions that are felt solely in pursuit of a Christian life. While it may seem like I’m focusing on Danielson Famile instead of the intended review subject, Danielson, many of these things apply.

Danielson is another project of Smith’s that keeps the poignantly Christian lyrics and the wild instrumentation, but focuses on Family in a different sense. For the first record released under the moniker Danielson, Smith gathered together all the people in the Famile, people he had worked with musically, friends, family, collaborative musicians, musician friends, and the like, and made this dense, sprawling record. The sound can only be described as huge. There are so many musicians and instruments on this record. Members of Half-Handed Cloud, Deerhoof, and Sufjan Stevens (all renowned musicians in their own circles) come forward to play alongside Smith and his siblings in this massive-sounding album. In fact, on first listen through, it may seem like too much. There is just too much going on in each song to follow. But repeated listens make the sound much clearer. After three or four listens to Kids Pushing Kids (one of my favorite cuts from this album) the melody suddenly became apparent and I was enjoying the tune. While at first the sheer amount of instrumentation may seem daunting, a few listens to a certain song will reveal the fact that it is a fantastically well-crafted song. Smith knows what he is doing musically.

I might be talking the melodies up to where they seem formidable and opposing, the truth is they are just the opposite. The songs are inviting and enjoyable on the first listen. If a song seems overwhelming, just give it another listen or two. Smith is a gifted musician who crafts music extremely well. “Ships” shows off his skill wonderfully. Smith is without a doubt the most prolific Christian artist on the market today, and his off-kilter pop sensibilities are infused with the particular flavor each musician brings to the song. The album on the whole retains a very Danielson feel, and you can tell that Smith’s creative mind is behind each song. “Ships” is easily the most well crafted Christian release of the year and deserves repeated listens