Ethan Crowley's Drowning in a Glass of Water is a tasteful showcase of vulnerability and openness.
Reviewed by Ash
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before reading this review, please support Ethan Crowley by streaming or purchasing the album. The links to the album on all major streaming platforms can be found here. Please also check out Ethan's website, which I have linked here.
THOSE WHO ATTENDED the most recent Collegium Seminar listening session were treated to a live playback of "In My Dreams", the lead single and third track off of Ethan Crowley's debut album, Drowning in a Glass of Water. Ethan introduced the track as a relatively low-key affair recorded with mostly acoustic instruments. He also said that all the elements totaled around seven stems in total—not that you'd ever know it from just how lush and expansive the soundscape of the track ended up being. "In My Dreams" opens with a simple yet expressive piano line that backs and understated and wonderfully vulnerable vocal performance from Ethan, who delivers lines like "Falling asleep, easier done than said/When all you've got is memories locked inside your head" with a captivating gravitas. The ascending chorus melody provides a perfect opportunity for Ethan to showcase his soaring lead vocals and excellent vocal control, and the second verse introduces some well-arranged and expertly recorded strings. The end result is an overpowering rush of pathos and emotion conveyed through tastefully restrained production and earnest songwriting. Once the track was finished playing, Ethan received some of the loudest applause of the day from the crowd of MTech students—one listener even remarked that they were holding back tears! I myself was quite moved by the track and found myself itching to hear more, this inspiring a full review of Drowning in a Glass of Water.
Coming off of the excellent response from the Collegium response to "In My Dreams", I was inspired to check out the full album. Released in August 2022, the full LP contains nine songs for a total runtime of just over half an hour. The album combines acoustic balladry that takes influence from modern singer-songwriters like Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi with songwriting and composition descended from the likes of Stephen Sondheim, all delivered through meticulously polished vocals and minimalist production.
The LP opens with "Let's Run Away", a subdued, downtempo endeavor that sees Ethan deliver endearing lyrics over low-key piano and acoustic guitar. The track is a slow burn that builds and eventually climaxes in crunchy shoegaze guitars and soaring guitar melodies, which makes for a truly captivating opening to the album. The climax was excellent and I found myself fully swept up in the rush of emotions stirred in me by Ethan's great melodic and harmonic sensibilities. The mix is pretty well done, but I did notice some distracting buzz accompanying the guitars in some areas. However, the structure of the song itself is excellent, and I found myself really enjoying the slow build-up to the track's soaring back end.
The LP then takes an abrupt turn with "Stage Crush", a sub-2 minute instrumental interlude based around a climbing electric guitar motif over subtle electric pianos and crashing drums. I admittedly wasn't the biggest fan of this track, at least at its position as the second track in the tracklist; I'm not sure the album needed an interlude this early. However, "In My Dreams" follows, and in case it's not clear already, I utterly love this track, and hearing it within the context of the full record did a great deal to pull me back in again.
"Losing My Mind", the fourth track on the album, brings panning synthesizers, lush harmonies, and raspy vocals to the table. The melodies on this track are great and provide plenty of opportunities for Ethan to showcase his vocals, which incorporate a rougher tone and plenty of vocal fry; the overall vocal performance is reminiscent of Lewis Capaldi for me. The pitch correction on the vocals seems a bit heavier on this track though, which makes it feel a little artificial to me. I wish Ethan's voice was clearer and retained more human imperfections, but ultimately the muted drums and restrained guitar work make this track quite enjoyable for me. The track eventually expands and explodes to include huge harmonies and crunchy pop punk guitars; Ethan doesn't go big often, but when he does, on tracks like "Losing My Mind" and "Let's Run Away" especially, his mastery of song arrangement and ability to manage the dichotomy between buildup and climax really shines through.
We get another interlude with "She Upgraded", based on drums and electric keyboards under a sampled narration. The following track, "Like a Game", is a somewhat brighter and more uptempo endeavor than the other tracks we've gotten so far, anchored in pulsating '80s synthesizers and half-time pseudo-trap drums. This track isn't my favorite on the album; I wish the chorus hit a little harder, and I find myself gravitating more towards Ethan's more stripped-back acoustic endeavors. Fortunately for me, the next track, the brilliant "603", returns to a moodier and more downtempo style. We get sparkling acoustic guitar riffs alongside muted power chords during the second verse. I actually really love the variety of guitar tones and styles of playing that constantly shift throughout the track; I feel like the diversity of guitar sounds creates a really deep and continually interesting soundscape that ultimately forms an excellent instrumental foundation over which Ethan can really let the vocals rip. He sings, "you don't have to leave/'cause our future needs a story", as the track builds to its final act, when we get a subtle piano that nicely backs and bolsters the guitars, and the vocal harmonies swell to the fullest they've been on the whole album. This track is truly great and I love it more and more with each listen; it's solidly cemented itself as being in competition with "In My Dreams" for my absolute favorite track on the record.
"Mind and Body" is the last of the three interlude-type tracks on the album, clocking in at nearly four minutes. Even though the interludes generally aren't my favorite part of this album, this one makes for a nice meditative moment, with Ethan's moody piano riffs and reverb-heavy production underlying a vocal narration from a yoga instructor. The final track, "Time Well Spent", incorporates a simple acoustic guitar line backed with Nashville-esque guitar countermelodies that give this song a vibe that lands somewhere between folk and singer-songwriter. I could totally picture Ethan singing this with an acoustic guitar in hand, sitting by a campfire, which is a great vibe that maps to Ethan's existing style very well. The harmonies are really well-done on this track, and the message of being thankful for memories made and time spent with a former lover is a great thematic choice on which to end the album.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Drowning in a Glass of Water. It's clear that Ethan had a very clear vision for the soundscape he wanted to create with his debut album, and the acoustic ballads that form the core of this LP were executed very well. The vibes were, shall we say, immaculate, and Ethan's love for his craft is clearly visible in every facet of this LP. I'm not sure three interludes were fully necessary on an album with only nine total tracks, but ultimately I respect Ethan's decision to include them in an effort to curate the listener's experience of the whole record as a cohesive unit. While there were some things I didn't love about the record—namely that I wish that the lead vocals were a little less touched-up at times, and that I wish we had more downtempo ballads—at the end of the day, Drowning in a Glass of Water is a refreshing exercise in tasteful restraint. It's clear that Ethan feels no need to overstuff these songs to the point of being overproduced, instead opting to let the strength of his vocals, songwriting, and minimalistic production carry the project. The LP is at its best when Ethan's earnest lyrics and heartfelt vocal performances can take front and center, buoyed by just the right amount of instrumental elements to form an effective foundation. In short, Drowning in a Glass of Water made for a promising debut project that shows a lot of potential! I'm very interested to see where Ethan takes his music in the future and I'm excited to see him collaborate with other students in the Music Technology program.
Personal enjoyment score: 7 out of 10
Standout tracks: "Let's Run Away", "In My Dreams", "Losing My Mind", "603"
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