William DuVall's First Solo Record "One Alone" Is Everything Modern Music Needs.
William DuVall is a musician who has gone all out for almost three decades in the music industry; his first band, the hardcore "Neon Christ", "Giraffe Tounge Orchestra" back in 2016 with Brent Hinds of Mastodon and Ben Weinman of Dillinger Escape Plan, his stint with Jerry Cantrell's solo band in the early 2000s which leads to the gig in Alice In Chains, and let's not forget his long run with Come with the Fall. Through all of this William has never released a solo album, until now.
Let me tell you "One Alone" is worth the wait. This record is everything missing
in modern-day music. It is smooth, straightforward and totally beautiful.
I think with all the technology we have at our disposal, we have a tendency
to disregard how beautiful it is to just sit down with an acoustic guitar and just let the magic happen. This album is stripped down to the bare basics, the melodic tones in the acoustic riffs paired with William's raspy yet soft vocals are double wham.
On first listen to the record, my instant favorite was "Chains Around My Heart".
The riff is so simply beautiful and the lyric flow is astounding. It has such a powerful yet gentle quality to it.
The more I listened to the record, "Smoke and Mirrors" has crept up as
a close second favorite. This one has a more eerie feeling than the last track
I mentioned. I feel like the riff on this one is one of the more complex riffs
on the record and it fits the lyrical content. The short solo bit he does is this
is so catchy. I love it so much.
There is one more song I want to mention. It is the last track on the record called
"Waiting Out The Breakdown". This is one of my favorites lyrically of any of William's
work, and is turning into one of my favorites all-time. "So much violence in my mind but you're stealing all my time, waiting out the breakdown" is so breathtaking.
William, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated vocalists and songwriters.
This album just proves that point even more. This is easily my favorite album released this year.
You can check out the album singles "Til The Light Guides Me Home" and "White Hot"
below as well as my interview with William from back in August!
Don't forget to catch him on tour this fall:
21 OCT Atlanta, GA City Winery
23 OCT New York, NY Cutting Room
25 OCT Philadelphia, PA City Winery
26 OCT Washington, D.C. City Winery
28 OCT Boston, MA City Winery
31 OCT Nashville, TN City Winery
01 NOV Cincinnati, OH Top Cats
02 NOV Indianapolis, IN Hi Fi
03 NOV Chicago, IL City Winery