Avi Kaplan has long been the deep baritone voice of the very successful a cappella group Pentatonix in America. After five studio albums, three Grammy Awards and an endless tour, he thought it was enough. Wanting both some peace and new perspectives for his unique voice, he resigned in 2017.
On his solo debut, he lets his fireside voice bask in glowing country and gospel and songs he wrote himself. In the opening track First Place I Go after all, it is first the vocal wonder that grabs the attention. But you also hear that Kaplan wants to escape the straitjacket of the deep registers. In the bridges and choruses he crawls up, and his voice takes on more soul. The soothing second and third voices, which Kaplan himself sang, are also special. He sings his own gospel choir together, and on, for example, the emotional guitar and piano ballad On My WayRichly produced by country and rock hero Shooter Jennings, the vocal splendor really warms you.
It doesn’t stay that festive: Kaplan gets bogged down in clichés as the album progresses. In the throbbing spiritual I’m Only Getting Started you get a little too much of a Rag’n’Bone Man feeling, and his bass voice once again emerges as the main selling point. Nevertheless: a remarkable vocal debut with a few fine songs.
Avi Kaplan
Floating on a Dream
roots
Concord/ Universal
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