[REVIEW] Scott Helman - Augusta

By: Rachel Katz

When The Silhouette interviewed Scott Helman about a month ago, he had officially released three songs. On Oct. 14, he released his first full EP, Augusta.

The seven-track record is impressive. From beginning to end it is 26 minutes, and every second is compelling. From the opening beats of “Bungalow” to the final lines of “Somewhere Sweet,” Helman has established himself as a musical force. From the quiet, intense “Machine” to the wild, meandering “Tikka,” he has proven himself an artist constrained by neither genre nor subject matter.

In many ways, the album is nearly perfect. It has the right mix of catchy beats and mellow sounds, and Helman can definitely write. His lyrics are hilarious, honest, and heartfelt all at once, and they make listening to Augusta an intimate experience. My one problem with the music is the use of an electric drum kit in some songs. No synthesized drums match the power of a real drum kit, and in some cases, it takes away from the music. But that’s a fairly minor problem, especially for a first album.

I fell in love with Augusta for two reasons. My working knowledge of music is slim, but when an artist is so captivating and shows so much promise that even I can tell how much potential he or she has, I take note, and in the time I’ve been listening to him, Helman has always proven himself to be skilled and charismatic.

Once I recovered from the initial “wow” factor of Augusta, I asked myself why I couldn’t stop listening to it. I realized that Helman’s music sounds familiar, not because we are both from Toronto, but because you can actually hear the vibrancy of the city in his music. Happiness, sadness, heartbreak, and anger are artfully arranged together, and maybe it’s just my way of being homesick, but when I listen to Augusta I feel like I’m home.