Tyler Mast’s return to the popular music arena, In the Company of a Friend, features nine tracks easily ranking among the best of the singer/songwriter’s career. Described as possessing “Chicago roots and a Green Mountain soul” implies that listeners will be treated to a steady stream of guitar, harmonica, and various shades of blue over the course of the release, but Mast confounds such expectations. The guitar contributions to this album are top notch and abundant, but the center of his musical universe isn’t the six string.
URL: https://tylermastmusic.com/
His versatility as a keyboardist/pianist makes constructing his songs around those instruments a natural fit and alternate between different keyboard sounds. Mast gravitates to a R&B/groove influenced style more than any other and the opener offers listeners their first taste of his style. It sweeps you into his musical world. The declamatory march of the piano during the opening followed by its almost playful climb sets a memorable tone for everything following it.
What follows is soulful yet physical, dispirited yet ultimately hopeful, and sparkles with life. The lyrics are a dark and thorny journey rendered in painfully succinct language. The song’s regrets and judgments alike are unsparing. “In the Lupines” has a softer edge, thankfully, and the R&B tendencies bubbling from its surface are credible from first note to last. He varies the keyboards some here and the resulting funk sound he achieves finds its mark.
“Now That I Found Thee” transforms during the course of the song. The metamorphosis from stylized folk into an organ fueled burner isn’t as incongruous as that description may sound and what emerges, in full, from this song is one of the more compelling depictions of longing in recent memory. Mast does not come off as a vocal wizard on first impression but, as you listen to this album, you can’t help but be taken aback by the sheer diversity present in his deceptively limited voice.
“Here’s to the Fools Who Tried” is a real standout, a sort of muted alt-rock folk groover with interesting changes galore that, nonetheless, sound familiar enough. It ingratiates itself with listeners fast. It is a song you can’t digest with a single listen either; there is too much going on, but it never sounds cluttered. Mast uncovers endlessly inventive ways of reframing his musical language; there’s a common thread running through these songs attesting to his craftsmanship in composing a complete work.
“Is It Too Late for Me?” packs quite a lyrical wallop. Mast writing about the everyday fears and insecurities we all experience will be one of the album’s high points for many listeners. His vocal has a level of engagement surpassing the already five-star jobs he does on every song before and after. It’s a live gem waiting to happen as well. Mast is already working on his follow-up to this release, so we aren’t going to have to wait long before hearing In the Company of a Friend’s successor. This album, however, will more than do for now.
Heather Savage
