Tag Archives: Thomas Charlie Pederson

Alt-rock: album review – Vinyl Floor ‘Balancing Act’

Album reviews, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Balancing Act is the sixth album from Danish alt-rock outfit, Vinyl Floor. Built around the nucleus of multi-instrumentalist brothers, Charlie and Daniel Pederson, the duo handle most of the musical duties themselves but expand their sound with some carefully-chosen guest musicians. The emphasis is firmly on catchy melodies and vibrant musical textures, with an array of strings, horns and vintage-sounding keyboards enriching the basic guitar-drums-bass indie-rock template.

Vinyl Floor: “Balancing Act is about trying to balance life and searching for beauty and meaning in a world full of chaos, treason,  insecurity and false promises. A world which itself currently seems out of balance.”

That’s a balancing act many of us are trying to pull off, of course, with varying degrees of success but I will say that here the scales very much tip towards the side of optimism. There’s a warmth about this album that undoubtedly puts one in a better mood for having listening to it.

Appearing alongside the Pederson brothers are the Swedish multi-instrumentalist Bebe Risenfors (whose CV includes work with Tom Waits and Elvis Costello) on horns and upright bass; Danish classical musician, Christian Ellegaard (who is a member of the national Danish Symphony Orchestra) on strings; and guitarist Daniel Hecht (of the Danish hard rock band, Franklin Zoo) who contributes additional guitar on a couple of tracks.

Intelligent indie rock with gorgeous sounds, lush harmonies and great hooks, Balancing Act grapples with contemporary angst with a firm nod to vintage pop-rock and in the process creates something that’s both satisfying and uplifting.

Released: 27 February 2026 https://www.facebook.com/vinylfloorband

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Album review – Thomas Charlie Pederson ‘Daylight Saving Hours’

Singer-songwriter: album review – Thomas Charlie Pederson ‘Daylight Saving Hours’

Album reviews, Folk music, Rock music, , , ,

Daylight Saving Hours is the second solo album from Thomas Charlie Pederson, lead singer and guitarist with Danish alt-rockers Vinyl Floor. Unlike the guitar-driven indie rock of Vinyl Floor, however, Pederson’s solo offering takes a mellow acoustic minimalistic approach, continuing in the vein of his first solo album Second Hand War released in 2016.

Recorded at the apartment of his brother (and Vinyl Floor’s drummer) Daniel, who also produced and mixed the album, Pederson states, “The project started out as demo recordings but I’ve decided to release these songs because I want to present them as raw as possible and because I want to preserve the feel of how they were written.”

The 14 songs on the album are centred mainly around Pederson’s vocals and either his piano playing or his acoustic guitar. For all it’s stripped back intimacy, however, the album does not lack polish, with Pederson’s brother providing some lovely atmospheric flourishes with additional string and organ arrangements. The result is an instinctively sympathetic backdrop to Pederson’s contemplative lyrics and melancholic delivery.

“Unlike the first album – which was quite introvert and personal – the new album sees me writing mostly about other people with a strong emphasis on the lyrics and melody and a few lyrical wordplays thrown in for good measure,” Pederson adds. “ I write about the commitments of love, illusionists, other worldly interference, melancholia, women in trouble and the different aspects of getting older.

Given my own music tastes I very much empathise with those musicians who enjoy exploring both their rock side and their acoustic side. An album of intimate lyrics and appealing melodies Thomas Charlie Pederson more than proves his worth as a singer-songwriter with Daylight Saving Hours.

Released by Karmanian Records 7th February 2020

daylight

https://www.facebook.com/thomascharliepedersenmusic/