Graham Isaacson,a Portland, Maine native conjures memories of a young Johnny Cash or Tom Waits, yet with a lyrical eloquence all his own. Honest and touching are words that would make up Isaacson’s approach to songwriting and lyric crafting. With lines such as “In your endless eyes… A man can find his way”, Isaacson offers delicate words that complement his gravelly delivery.

Graham’s music is very relaxing, and I’ve enjoyed listening to it. I think it has a little bit of the “indie” genre wrapped in it. “Love of My Days” would be my favorite of the one’s that I’ve listened to. “Your laughter is the tone of my sound… my two hands waited for you, my two feet will go anywhere that you do, your the love of my days”.It’s a very sweet song to say the least. “Angel Underneath” which has the piano playing a pretty role, is more up-beat. “He bites the hands that he holds, but the funny thing is, I’m an angel underneath, he brings a knife to my throat, the irony is I’m an angel underneath. People often say to me is that the devil must have made you do it. I reply their right because he had the chance in hell, he blew it”. By reading this lyric, I would have thought this was a heavy-metal song, ha. This is a really good song as well. I’m pretty surprised by how much I like Graham and his music.

The recordings that make up the EP were in fact made over the course of several years in a variety of environments including late night, whiskey-fueled jam sessions with friends such as Ray LaMontagne. Ray himself proclaims Isaacson’s songwriting “is something pure and true. It explores the hopeful, dark and mystical way of love.” The timeless sounds of The Primer EP will no doubt appeal to fans of classic artists such as Leonard Cohen, but will invite a future generation of folk-lovers to discover what inspired the genre to begin with.

I don’t really listen to this type of music very often, but If I were you I would go check out his myspace and give these songs a listen. http://www.myspace.com/grahamisaacson

Jenna Tanner
CMTT Music Contributor
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