With a voice equal parts tender, warm, and haunting, Chris Garneau is like the male version of Regina Spektor (with a bit of Sufjan Stevens thrown in). There’s no instrument off limits to the Brooklyn-based musician, who supplements his piano-drenched melodies with a cello, trumpet, harmonica, violin, and harmonium, to name a few. With each song, you're taken on an emotional rollercoaster, and you enjoy the ride, going from celebration to sadness, nostalgia to hope.

Garneau showcases this talent on his second album, El Radio, out next month. On it, he maintains this mix of heart-wrenching lyrics and deep, multi-layered instrumentation. Songs like “Dirty Night Clowns” and “No More Pirates “, with their staccato'd hand claps and animated marching beat, contrast to the dreamy simplicity of “Hands On The Radio”, in which he softly sings, “This town is my favorite/ And I promise I will come back/ Girls, I promise you/ And boys, I promise you too.”

Garneau's music is just as disarming live as it is on record—and certainly aided by the fact that he looks like a less-vampy Robert Pattinson. And that’s not his only connection to show biz; Garneau gave up a role in the Broadway musical Spring Awakening to focus on his solo career. But it just might be his music that gives Garneau his biggest break yet.
SHRUTI GANGULY

www.myspace.com/chrisgarneau

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