Local Reviews: Trenton McKean

Local Music Reviews

Trenton McKean
The Many Shades
Self-Released
Street: 05.15
Trenton McKean & The Many Shades = Ben Harper + Matt Morris + John Mayer
Ah, the lonely life of a session musician. You make an album like The Many Shades listenable, but you will never be mentioned beyond the liner notes. I am truly sorry. Along with the expert musicianship Trenton McKean has at his employ, The Many Shades has quite a few nice things going for it. I can see McKean’s raspy voice, high production value and smartly performed instrumental solos floating non-threatingly over a grassy lawn where Park City 40-somethings bob to McKean’s vibrato rich voice and steady backing band. But beyond the PC crowd and those who like “acoustic” musicians, McKean is facing an overly saturated market with similar sounding singer/songwriters. If McKean hones his songwriting away such from tired clichés as “you look so beautiful/with your heart on your sleeve,” he has something that would fit nicely on FM radio. There is no way anybody listed above is any more or less talented.