Henry Jamison: Gloria Duplex

Confusion reigns on the Gloria Duplex, the new album by Burlington, Vermont based singer-songwriter Henry Jamison who wonders what it means to be a man these days. Is masculinity an unavoidable recipe for violence in general and towards women in particular? And how does one interact with the fairer sex in this day and age?

Although he asks some very valid questions, his bubbling indie folk - sometimes padded with a few strings - fails to make a lasting impression. His music could be inserted all those "chill" playlists and chances are that no one would notice that he is bearing his soul, crying out for help, and in need of some answers. Sometimes you need to speak up to be heard (and not by applying some out-of-the-blue autotune to appease the hipters), but maybe that is male chauvinistic point of view. Gloria Duplex is built upon ideas and conceptions, but the music fails to support it.