Stripping down music to the bones with nary an eye toward classification, John Muther records his folkish pop songs simply and releases them on CDs available on CDBaby.com or as downloads from iTunes.
His third and latest, "Everything That Makes You Feel Tired," is a four-track EP that conjures The Decemberists, both sonically and stylistically. But perhaps a lower-fi version.
But like Colin Meloy and company, Muther has cosmopolitan taste in music and that has left a subtle mark on the music.
"I was raised listening to classical music and folk music," Muther says. "My parents also took us kids to a lot of folk concerts. I also heard plenty of church music, and there was a fair amount of Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, classic blues, classic rock of course. When I got older I started listening to ska, then punk, then some hardcore/metal, then what people now call indie. While in college, I studied music theory and music literature."
With its folky acoustic guitars, sometimes almost baroque piano figures -- see "Cost of Living," the first tune on the new CD -- it's a little hard to classify what Muther does. And that's just fine with him.
"I don't put much credence on genre labels," he says, "and who really does anymore? What is more important to me is a well written, catchy, original song. Until I hear something drastically different, it is all Pop music to my ears. So, I have a fairly diverse musical background, and I think this is due to the fact that I sincerely love music overall."
Despite his long musical history, Muther says he's a relative newcomer to making his music in a serious way.
"I've been actively writing and performing only for about four years, as far as I can tell, but I had a very musical upbringing so music has always been a part of my life. "
In 2005 Muther released "5 Songs/5 Dollars," an EP, and last year followed with the eight-song "Right Lane for the Right Turn." Both CDs were recorded entirely at home by Muther alone.
The four songs on the new CD are all performed on acoustic guitar and piano. Some have a few basic overdubs of toy piano, trumpet and simple percussion (which sounds to these ears like a typewriter and a water glass!).
"I think my first two recordings were great, but I am very proud of this newest one, as it is a big step forward in every aspect," he says.
"When recording, I made it a point to use instruments only if they made their own sound, ditching the electronic keyboard, drum machine and electric guitar, at least for the moment. It gives the music a very present sound, like it could be played in the room. At this point I am still writing, arranging and playing everything on the recording, so everything you hear on the CD is me."
Muther has no gigs planned at the moment, but is working on booking some toward the end of September, so stay tuned.
