Dave Tate & Victoria Lagerström

It's both curious and mind-boggling. After he released the stunning album The Solitude of Here it was expected that record companies would wear out Dave Tate's doorstep. Why this didn't happen is anybody's guess. It may be because Dave Tate cherishes his independence, but he did hint more than once at the fact that his life would be a fair deal easier with a record deal. So the most recent album, The Final Hour, was again released independently.

The Final Hour once again establishes Dave Tate formidable qualities as a singer/ songwriter so enthusiasts of The Solitude of Here can buy this CD blindly. It calls to mind the same salutary atmosphere that The Solitude of Here had. All words of praise I had for The Solitude can be applied to this CD as well: it has as much character as a Nick Drake album; Tate has a voice which can closely resemble the young Paul Simon (Fall to You, Beyond the Veil) and which is very much like that of David Gates in the higher registers. Still, he retains his individual and entirely unique style and so avoids becoming an epigone of the abovementioned singers. Tate's classically trained voice effortlessly sings the higher notes, which have an actual function in the songs and aren't meant to show off. These notes give the tracks an additional suspense and overtones. Apart from this, Tate's diction is perfect so one can clearly hear the separate words in the lyrics. Furthermore, Tate has a certain, clearly recognisable, way of playing the guitar in which he alternates between flowing and staccato melodies and rhythms (Fourth of July,Rainy Days).

The entire album exudes a comfortable sense of peace and serenity. The poetic lyrics shouldn't be subjected to interpretation, which would be no easy task anyway because they're rather mysterious at times. They have to be felt instead. Dave Tate gives his listener room to do this. He weaves pauses into his compositions by using short breaks or guitar riffs so the listener has time to let everything sink in. I really like this style in which mindfulness and intensity go hand in hand. In some tracks I miss Ann Marshall and Joe Jones who respectively played the violin and the bassoon on The Solitude. Cellist Ryan Kratsch does feature on this CD again and the way in which the cello harmonises with Tate's vocals and guitar is a true treat for the ears. The devotee will have to go to Cdbaby or Tate's website in order to get their own copy. As far as I'm concerned Tate is the best singer/songwriter around at the moment.

Grade: 9 out of 10

Brilliant Dave Tate

I still find it totally inexplicable that two years ago someone like Dave Tate could make such amazing albums as The Solitude of Here, In The Rhythm and Home Is In The Stars, from which such an exceptional talent spoke as a singer, as a guitar player, as a songwriter, as a producer, as an arranger and he still couldn't find a record company interested in releasing any of them. How mistaken all these people were, is evident when we played Dave Tate's latest CD The Final Hour, as this album is even more heart stoppingly beautiful than his previous records, a feat we didn't think possible.

There didn't seem to be any way his singing or guitar playing could be improved, and although we thought the same of his songwriting, he succeeds in lifting the basic level another notch, so that his own unique style (think of a cross between Paul Simon and Jeff Buckley, not just in style but also in quality) hits such a level of perfection that it's hard to comprehend anything more beautiful.

2008 - Dave Tate - The Final Hour - Chronicle of an artist on the cutting edge

If you followed the news of this music on WIMMER early November, you probably had a crush on the album The Same Heart Dave Tate has released with his beautiful wife Victoria Lagerström under the artist name of Dave and Victoria. I promised in that review to chronicle of his most recent solo work to date: The Final Hour, released in 2008.

This latest album, that I’ve listened to repeatedly over the last few days, makes me think that Dave Tate is one of my favorite discoveries of 2009 in the category Male Artist. His exceptional silky and velvety voice generates a durable and powerful enchantment. His writing is poetic and delicate guitar playing is beautiful in it’s simplicity and perfection. All these artistic qualities show that Dave Tate is an artist not to be missed. His work is in the vein of the great male artists as well as his contemporaries Ray Lamontagne and Damien Rice. But unlike them the music of Dave Tate has a more sparse, dreamy, airy and refined finish. One can also compare his work to one of his biggest inspirations Paul Simon.

The Final Hour is a gem of a folk album that soothes the soul and lets hear pleasure even when dealing with intense emotion. Dave strikes a perfect balance between melancholy and bright, the album is always light and fresh it never falls into the weight or repetition. One senses the profound honesty and authenticity of the independent artist who, accompanied by only three other musicians; bass (Pete Jensen), cello (Ryan Krastch) and percussion (Lucas Hieronymous), imposes his timeless, moving, folk style. The Final Hour consists of 12 jewels. It is very difficult to decide which track is your favorite since they are all such quality songs: Fall To You, Beyond The Veil, Rainy Days, Change Is Coming, Music and Sea Without a Shore are just a few examples that show how this masterful, brilliant artist is more than deserving of your attention.

The Final Hour is a complete success that combines deep emotion and pleasure, Dave Tate is definitely one of the great independent artists.

The Final Hour

Although the instrumentation on Dave Tate’s “The Final Hour” is fairly sparse – Tate’s acoustic guitar along with occasional cello and light percussion – he still manages to find that lush sound that gives his music more tonal depth than traditional folk music. Tat’s brand of contemporary folk is more about the melody than the words, but he’s also a skilled songwriter who doesn’t give into clichés. His clear vocals stand out on “Fall to You,” which could serve as a blueprint of how love songs should sound. It sounds strange to say a guy has a beautiful voice, but Tate does, and his operatic training is apparent on tracks like the majestic “Music” as he perfectly describes his own sound: “Music to soothe the soul.” He’s no slouch when it comes to the guitar either. His finger-work rings out on “Music” and “Now I’m Off” and chimes on “Not Alone” and “Rainy Days.” “Beyond the Veil” sports an addictive riff and “Service of the Song” practically explodes with sound.