Builder of the House
I Am a Tidal Wave
self-released
There’s no shortage of singer/guitarists in town stretching the conventions of acoustic folk and blues. If Rob Cimitile, recording as Builder of the House, stretched further, he could be among our finest.
As it is, I Am a Title Wave, his first EP in this incarnation, mostly points at what could be really compelling music. The happy-go-plucky opener, “Niktricity,” is easy on the ears, and when Cimitile breaks it down around the three-minute mark it gets interesting, but there should be more such moments to earn the four-and-a-half minutes of our lives it demands. The title track rides a sprightly strum for about two minutes — Cimitile plays guitar and ukulele, as well as percussion, and he’s joined here by Conor Mulroy on banjo — then briefly disintegrates into a lonesome whistle backed by some lovely guitar notes before climbing back on the same horse it rode in on. I wanted to follow that whistle somewhere, instead.
On “Fire Dawn Breaking,” Cimitile sounds like Nick Drake wandering the set of 3:10 to Yuma. It’s the strongest track here. Cimitile’s clearly got the voice and the dexterity. Now he just needs more acid.
— Chris Busby
[music album=10201]
