Callum Pitt - “I Feel A God and Devil In This Room”
Callum Pitt hits us in all of the right places, beginning with his influences, including the likes of Elliott Smith, Julien Baker, and Sufjan Stevens– all of whom we have used as the yardstick by which we measure any indie folk submissions. And all of which should not be mentioned unless one’s music can back it up– in this case, we are pleased to say that it is justified.
Pitt has many accolades attached to his name, such as playing The Great Escape, Deer Shed & The Long Road, supporting numerous artists, such as Donovan Woods, Adia Victoria, and Jordan Mackampa, and winning the Alan Hull Award for songwriters in 2019, then the Fender Player Plus competition in 2022. Having read all of this, it raised our expectations quite signicantly, but, again, we are pleased to say that the music holds up.
So when we finally pressed play on Callum Pitt’s latest release, “I Feel A God and Devil In This Room,” we had already allowed ample time to brace ourselves for its mighty sound. Straight out of the gate, the track tells its listener that it was given the proper treatment– we are guessing that one of two things occurred here: 1) This was created in a big budget studio or 2) The artist simply knows his craft so well that anything he churns out will sound like money. It is solid in both musicianship and craftsmanship, with a mix and master that leaves us wanting to delete everything we’ve recorded in the past year (or three). It dazzles us with angelic vocal harmonies right off the bat, featuring Jodie Nicholson’s golden voice, then shows us the happy marriage of the piano and guitar. A gentle lead and some synthy strings make a gracious appearance just before Pitt’s vocal begins its sweet, melodic narration.
The song naturally crescendos over its duration in such a way that the listener does not realize it is nearly five minutes in length. As it nears its conclusion, the pace has picked up with a rhythm that makes the beginning seem as though it was a different song altogether. Everything is exactly where it’s supposed to be and you’re going to want to follow this dude in order to catch everything that he releases after this. Bravo!
-TM