Stephen Fretwell - 'Run' (Fiction)
2/5
By: Lauren Gallagher
You know the scene. Beautiful girl (lots of hairspray), handsome boy (overly muscular), their love is great, the circumstances bad, it's 1987 and it seems like their world is about to end. She must run, but if she stays he proclaims, 'I'll go out of my way for you.' Aw. He continues: 'I can't relate, to what's on your plate, but my appetite never failed before.' While the lover pines with devotion, the piano tinkles (no doubt to imitate the rain in which they're both drenched), the acoustic guitar strums, and here we have a ballad of the drippiest sentimental proportions.
Stephen Fretwell's album 'Magpie' has met with relatively warm reviews, yet 'Run' provides nothing significantly intriguing which would land Fretwell in the land of 'trailblazing new artist.' The musicianship is competent, the tune traditional, the ivories get quite a workout towards the finale of the song, but it leaves the same virtual aftertaste of a sappy 80's movie: you've seen it, heard it all before. There is nothing wrong with the whisperings of sweet (and sometimes sour) nothings in the vein of Elliott Smith, Iron and Wine, Red House Painters etc., yet, woefully, 'Run' lacks the sincerity necessary to pull it off.
Artists in this article: Stephen Fretwell
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