By Geno McGahee
Most horror people know Jonathan Tiersten through his acting in horror films, most notably SLEEPAWAY CAMP. Recently, he has found a lot of work in the horror world, landing many lead roles and showing his acting skills, but his talents don’t end with acting. He is a musician and the front man for Ten Tiers. I recently sat down and listened to his latest CD – FAMILY. It is edgy, meaningful and strikes a lot of chords with the listener. Each song gets the point across. This is how Ten Tiers wants you to feel and that’s how you feel when you listen to the song.
We begin with a cover of the 1956 Mickey & Sylvia hit LOVE IS STRANGE. The sound of Jonathan Tiersten and Ten Tiers fits very well. It’s familiar but new and that’s what you want from a cover. Tiersten puts his own mark on this song and it proves to be a very intense tune rather than the original bubble gum sort of approach. THE LOOKING GLASS is a very atmospheric song. It’s mellow and funky at times. There’s almost a sense of sadness put across and it really sits with you. Tiersten has a knack to get emotion across. As he did with his past tunes, he found magic again with this tune. SWEETNESS is a very mellow love song. Once again, the ability to connect through his music is on display. You can almost see where Tiersten was when he created this song. It was a very slow ride for the listener.
LIFE TAKES ITS TOLL is just an awesome song. I don’t like to use the term “awesome” when doing a review, but it was the first thing that comes to mind when I listen to this tune. It’s relevant, aggressive, and catchy. This is the sort of song you can listen to when you’re on edge or even reflective on the troubles of life. SEE YOU AT CHRISTMAS TIME is once again showing the softer side of Tiersten. It’s another example of Tiersten tapping into the human emotion and touching upon something that everyone goes through. When you listen, it’s easy to scream “he understands!” THE PRINCESS is another song that is a real standout on this CD. It’s moody and cool. Tiersten sings it with a certain ease and it’s very easy to just sit back and listen. HONG KONG (DEAR JOHN) is a very unique tune. It incorporated much of the atmosphere of some of his other tunes, but it does have this unique sound. I really enjoyed the story-telling aspect of this one. CITY OF ANGELS is a tune that has a little of everything. It’s mellow but tough at times. I got a real early David Bowie sound feel from this one. It has a very 70’s feel. I really liked this one. NOVEMBER (THE DON’S CLUB SESSIONS) is another fantastic catchy tune. Once again showing his diversity, Tiersten brings a very radio-friendly sort of song that could easily be one of his launch titles to the public. The final tune THE BOAT (THE DON’S CLUB SESSIONS) brings the same catchy “main stream” sort of tune. It is loaded with energy and emotion. A great song.
FAMILY is a GREAT CD (or MP3 download). I have listened to prior work from this band and it was outstanding and the quality has continued. I highly recommend this. I was really impressed.
