Sleep at Your Own Speed

Butcher the Bar: Joel Nicholson.
Butcher the Bar is the one-man band of Joel Nicholson, whose debut album can readily be summed up as a collection of songs greater than the sum of its parts. That may damn with faint praise, but Sleep at Your Own Speed, in its gentle blend of softly echoed vocals, guitar and other instruments, a bedroom recording par excellence, reminds one of nothing so much as the many albums released by Jim Rao aka Orange Cake Mix, each of which had its own calling card songs but which all tended to blend together as a blissfully sweet listen. That Nicholson has done the same here is no problem insofar as he's nailed his approach very well -- two songs that appeared on an earlier single, "Get Away" and "Leave This Town," essentially set the dynamic for the album as a whole with little variation. Nicholson's understated singing, hint-of-shoegaze playing, and general sonic envelopment are familiar approaches from any number of performers, and Sleep at Your Own Speed should best be characterized as an enjoyable starting point rather than as a release that fully stands out. Given time, he may well start releasing some truly striking performances, but for now he shows promise, and that is enough. ~ Ned Raggett