It’s the first time I have had the pleasure of reviewing an album like Nowhere to Flee, but as we all say, there’s a first time for everything. Gary Lloyd Noland has created a mysteriously beautiful album here. Therefore, I am bringing it to you in this review of Nowhere to Flee by Gary Lloyd Noland. I will share with you what I believe is great about this album, why you should take note, where I believe Gary can improve and finally, where you can purchase or stream the album. So, read on!

Who is Gary Lloyd Noland?

Gary Lloyd Noland was born in Seattle in 1957. He didn’t have the easiest of childhoods as he lived in a crowded house. Gary was born as a baby boomer, just after the war, and he shared his home with various different people at different times.

Although life was tough, Gary was exposed to music from a young age. He lived for a time in Salzburg (Mozart’s birthplace) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (home of Richard Strauss). During his time there, Gary absorbed a host of musical tastes and genres.

During Gary’s musical education, he achieved a Bachelor’s Degree from UC Berkeley in 1979, where he studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree at Berkeley, Gary Lloyd Noland studied for a Master’s Degree and a PhD at Boston Conservatory and Harvard respectively

Gary’s ever-increasing repertoire includes scores of opuses. These opuses see him play the piano. He has five anagrammatic alter egos that take care of other instruments. Gary’s repertoire has included vocal, piano, orchestral, chamber, experimental and electronic works, plays in verse, “chamber novels,” and graphically notated scores. Much of Gary’s compositions are multi-tracked “comprovisations”

Nowhere to Flee by Gary Lloyd Noland

The purpose of this post is to review the Nowhere to Flee album by Gary Lloyd Noland. Therefore, let’s get back to it.

It is all too easy to ignorantly write off Nowhere to Flee as a tuneless noise. However, a lot of hard work, effort and thought has been put into the album’s production. Gary has used various sounds. Fitting them together in a coherent album of works has been a challenge for him. Fits and starts happen all the time. You get the impression that he is about to start a noticeable drum beat – only to find that it has finished as suddenly as it has begun. Gary Lloyd Noland has excelled by using the right sounds with the right volume, frequency range, etc.

I also appreciate the mix of electronic and recorded noises. Gary recorded some of the sounds during the production of this music. However, other elements and the electronic sounds Gary has sourced to accompany the music are noticeable.

The music can be classed as tuneless for much of the time. However, the skill has been in making it as such. Therefore, Gary Lloyd Noland has shown natural talent in coherently bringing all these sounds together.

Where Can Gary Improve Nowhere to Flee?

I mentioned recently in another post that music is the one commodity that shapes people rather than people shaping it. The artist makes music they like and doesn’t care if other people like it. This makes the production of music sound almost selfish. Indeed, making music is for my enjoyment rather than anyone else’s. However, the music we listen to often shapes a generation of people. Today, we hear more about hip-hop and rap than in previous years. Some of us grew up with classic rock in the 1980s (myself included).

While many people may find Nowhere to Flee by Gary Lloyd Noland to be a challenging album to listen to and make head-nor-tail of, it is not intended to be an easy-listening album. It is called experimental music because it challenges people’s tastes in music. It differs from the norm, the run-of-the-mill music you will hear elsewhere.

Where Can You Learn More About Gary Lloyd Noland and His Album, Nowhere to Flee?

You are welcome to visit the official Gary Lloyd Noland website, stream Nowhere to Flee on SoundCloud, subscribe to Gary’s YouTube, and you can find Gary on Spotify here. If you would really like to support Gary, please consider purchasing his music from Amazon. Please purchase Gary’s Flammable Counterpoint here. Alternatively, you are welcome to purchase Gary’s music from Bandcamp here.

You can have your music reviewed here on Krannaken.com too. Thank you for reading this post and listening to Gary’s music.