Tris McCall

As familiar in tone as a sunrise over the frontier, the moderate piano melody that awakens Tris McCall’s “The Unmapped Man” is an essential ingredient to the artist’s unabashed cocktail of alternative Americana this summer. McCall, a veteran of the studio, holds nothing back from us in this wildly harmonious addition to his discography (along with its colorful, albeit a bit retro, music video), and while his isn’t the only track of its kind out this season, it’s absolutely one of my favorites out of the underground market. “The Unmapped Man” is a story of self-discovery, but more importantly, the discovery of what it means to be American all over again. 

MORE ON TRIS MCCALL: http://trismccall.net/ 

Beyond the keys, the percussion here is definitely a source of adrenaline, pumping up the urgency of the lyrics whilst also imparting its own element of emotionality to the grander scheme of things. I really like how McCall is able to utilize all of the different components here, both melodic and mechanical, as a means of advancing his narrative - god knows that, in recent times, the trend of simplistic, single-threaded poetry has been all too dominant in rock, folk and even some mainstream R&B.

The lyric video for “The Unmapped Man” is every bit the extension of the words themselves that we could ask for it to be, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel like a standard-issue expansion of the verses at all. The imagery that the words are accompanied by here has the feel of an old home movie that any of us might find when searching through our parents’ attic; visuals of an America of old that still exists down the street today (if you look for it hard enough). It’s an inspiring document, but definitely not the only reason to check out its soundtrack. 

Tris McCall has been in the game for a number of years now, and if you ask me, the wealth of experience he brings with him into the recording process is demonstrated here marvelously. He’s still got a lot of ground left to cover, but from where I sit, “The Unmapped Man” is a track that gives us a pretty good idea of what to expect out of his camp in the years to come. This is an artist who prides himself on consistency and constant growth, and in his most recent studio dispatch, he’s looking stronger and more reliable as a songwriter than ever before. 

**********

Trace Whittaker

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

7/2020