Neal Eles sounds like Jose Gonzales. It's that simple. Maybe Jose Gonzales sounds like Neal Eles, or maybe they both sound like someone else? Who knows? It's that gentle singer-songwriter formula all played on pianos and acoustic guitars with some melancholic vocals. Neal Eles chooses to beef up the archetype with drums and increased timbres, however, and even has a few upbeat, almost contented, numbers spliced through As Night Sinks. But at heart, it's the same basic thing.
Opener and title track, "As Night Sinks" could easily find a home on Gonzales' Veneer album, such is the apparent, striking similarity in vocal styling. It's through the much more bubbly "I Go Underground" that a more distinctive sound comes to the fore, with heavy drum beats and an added charm from the slight imperfections in the vocals. "The Well" moves back towards the Gonzales feel with a slight "Hotel Yorba" sound added to the guitar line and some Nick McCabe worthy wah-wahs in the background that quickly fall into an electric lead line that flows into "Despair." Piano driven, the good spirits of the music contrasts with the dejected, soulless lyrics to form easily the best track on As Night Sinks. "Home and Friends" comes across as a fusion of The Moon and Antarctica-era Modest Mouse with some Cat Power melodies thrown in for good measure and leads into "Hands" that closes the album as it began - with a song that could almost fit perfectly into Jose Gonzales' Veneer, with a few folk influences tossed in, just to add a little spice.
How you feel about Neal Eles is easily summed up by how you feel about the genre in general. As it is, Neal Eles is particularly good at what he chooses to do. While staying within a basic acoustic-singer-songwriter framework, Neil Eles introduces a wide enough of variety of influences, timbres and tempos to keep As Night Sinks interesting. More an album, however, for those already interested in acoustic music, rather than one to introduce those that remain impassive.
