The Drowned Coast Review

An Ohio based magazine had a review printed in it.

Zephuros
The Drowned Coast
Self-Released, 2008
by Jill Mapes

It becomes clear that whether entirely purposeful or otherwise, Zephuros, AKA former OU student Kevin Meyer, draws most of his inspiration from nature. Ducks, egrets, whales, flies, squirrels, leopards, foxes, grizzly bears, meadowlarks and roebucks (a European deer, to be exact) can be found roaming throughout The Drowned Coast as freely as they would in a peaceful meadow.

While it is a gentle voice similar to Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie) that sings Zephuros’ songs, Meyer’s musical style is comparable to those of Sufjan Stevens and Andrew Bird, a multi-instrumentalist with whom Meyer has shared the stage. It is here on The Drowned Coast that Meyer’s multi-instrumentalist background and Andrew Bird affinity seem to surface. There is a full orchestra of OU students at the helm of Zephuros’ musical departure from his first self-release effort, The Black Gull. Providing an interlude between each song and accompaniments throughout all 16 tracks, the orchestra’s high-flying flutes, meandering clarinets and plucky piano parts provide the musical variation needed to set The Drowned Coast apart from other acoustic albums.

While The Drowned Coast may leave listeners yearning for a bit more edge, closing tracks like “Mount Rainier” and “Emerald Sea,” which tells the story of an immigrant deer attempting to make his way to the U.S., prove themselves as rightfully climactic and hugely dramatic. As “Emerald Sea” progresses, it becomes clear that it is more about a family separated by distance than an antlered mammal.

By the impression left by his music, Meyer comes off as the type of person who, despite eye-rolling annoyance from certain friends, would just feel wrong setting up mouse traps or squashing a bug. Perhaps what feels wrong above all, however, is that The Drowned Coast’s seemingly simple acoustic songs about animals can, and at some point probably will, bring listeners to tears. The reason for this is simple: Zephuros’ wildlife lyrics reflect more insight into human nature than those of many young singer-songwriters today

*(Parts of this review have been published previously by SpeakeasyMag.com)

Read it here (pdf)