Tony Kamel “Live from the Bunker” (LP)

Tony Kamel’s latest album release is the live entry “Live from the Bunker”, eschewing overtly slick production value for a decidedly scaled back, straightforward sound accompanied by Kamel’s signature, slightly caustic vocals. As far as indie acts go, Kamel is one of the more exciting to have come across my radar in the last couple years. All of his work to date has this straightforward, unpretentious earnestness to it – there’s never the sense of posturing or that Kamel goes for bravado.

URL: https://www.tonykamelmusic.com/

When he sings, it genuinely feels like one of the old-timers, in the spirit of a Young or Dylan almost. Kamel is somewhat perplexing in this way, because he comes across as so assured it makes one wonder why he hasn’t elicited more attention. But in other ways, his low-key aesthetic makes the rewarding aspects of the listen that much better. Because there’s no sense Kamel wants to make his mark on anything other than merit. That sincerity rewards both him and his audience with tracks that are at once soulful, somewhat bittersweet and melancholic, and tell actual stories as opposed to premeditated hooks.

“ For me, my favorite part of the whole deal is playing live,” Kamel says, in an interview with Americana Highways. “… If you look at the videos that we’ve released, that is us playing the recordings on the record. That’s not lip-synced. We just documented everything. The easiest way to capture that live energy is just to play it live. When I do my live shows, I over-think the set lists. I think about the way that things move throughout, and I put myself in the place of the audience. But I think it just happened naturally, too. I think if you get together with good musicians and just play, and you feel the energy, it just comes across. Also, it’s a much quicker way to make a record!…We knocked it out really fast, in just a few days.”

This same quality is reflected in his new record with “Live from the Bunker”. Kamel clearly is interested in the craft of what it means to be a real singer, not just the idea of it. In his case, this is shown through his willingness to overexpose his process, never forgoing a slight flaw performatively with a slick edit. For Kamel, it’s clear such things are a vital part of what makes the music-making process organic, and real.

“ I do hope that there can be some inspiration for people who are frustrated right now, who understand that if you’re reading this right now, then you’re alive, and as difficult as things are, you’ve got to live your life. In many of our cases, though we’re still wondering what to do, there’s a point where we have to dust ourselves off and start fighting,” Kamel says in the same interview. “… Most of (my) songs are based on personal experiences, but I want nothing more than for people to relate to them, and hopefully find some fight within themselves through them in any given situation. That’s whether you’re going through the death of a family member, or a friend, or your kids are growing up too fast, and it’s hard to reckon with, or someone in your life has had an addiction issue.”

Mark Druery