By Rick Jamm (Original URL)
Ender Bowen, a recording artist in Nashville, has reissued his third album, “Lemonymous” following a crowd-sourcing funding campaign. The album was originally released 10 years ago. Bowen, who started out as a drummer, says he knew he wanted to be a rock star when he saw Van Halen’s “Jump” for the first time at four years old. At the age of 16 Bowen got into his first band, but felt that as a drummer he could not contribute as much as he wanted to in composing the songs. So he left the band and taught himself to play the guitar. He started another band, but when that eventually fell through he finally felt it was the time to go solo.
In 2006, after releasing the original “Lemonymous” album, his third, Ender Bowen moved to Nashville, quickly signed a record deal and waited for things to happen…nothing did! Two years later he asked to be released from his contract and had to play catch-up with everyone else who had already moved into the digital downloading era. In 2014 after the birth of his daughter, Bowen realized he needed to continue to pursue his dream, no matter how hard it was. And now he is back on track!
If you’re a total sucker for soaring, grandiose, borderline overly-soundscaped and over-the-top melodies “Lemonymous” is for you. The songs have depth and personal meaning on a variety of levels that I appreciate more and more with each listening. These songs hit a nerve and take you places whether it is general troubles we all go through in life or relationship problems. Much like Bono of U2, Ender Bowen’s far-reaching voice fills up the album with so much emotion you can taste it. To my mind, “Lemonymous” requires multiple listens because you catch things – snippets of lyrics, a turn of a note, etc. on every listen; having said that, the music lends itself to ‘superficial’ listening too. So if you need to do something else, but need am enveloping sonic backdrop, “Lemonymous” will certainly oblige.
The writing, playing, and singing on this album is that of an artist firing on all cylinders, and every song has a hook. Bowen’s voice is strong and assured as he works his way through standouts such as: “March Of Thieves”, “Like A Dream”, “So Can’t I”, “Fate” and “Alive”. There’s a sort of majesty to a lot of Ender Bowen’s songs here. They sound bigger and more epic than most of the mainstream songs out there. The songwriting is passionate without being cliché. Bowen delivers it with power, and the tasteful electronics included in his arrangements create a dream-like, wondrous background behind his voice for most ears to revel in.
After a substantial absence from the spotlight, Ender Bowen makes his fabulous return to music with this highly versatile tour de force. “Lemonymous” not only brings the artist into full force creativity, but showcases a superb kind of compassionate musicianship, where every single note matters!