Quick Disclaimer: The following artist is the cousin of two of my good buddies and after talking and discussing with Andrew for the past couple years about his music it was finally time to see what he’s got up his sleeve.

Music bloggers are often asked by friends who play in bands if they can post their songs, write about their new album or at the very least, mention their upcoming shows. While we want to support our friends, it’s hard enough to find the time to post about the music we’ve actually been meaning to share with the world. This often means we have to leave our friends off the publishing time-line. By no means should our friends take this personally as music in general is very subjective – to each his own so they say. Remember, most of us don’t do this for a living unlike some folks who get paid boat loads of money for advertising, which may or may not sway their vote come review time.

This brings me to Andrew Emmons. Andrew never asked me to post about his music. He was merely interested in feedback and so he sent me his new album, Homebones. So Andrew, here is my official feedback.

I’ve centered this post around the song, Wind up Birds. Not because the rest of the album isn’t good, although this track in my opinion tends to stand out over the rest, but it’s a perfect display of Andrews great song writing and musicianship skills. The guitar and piano parts in this recording were done by Andrew and the percussion was handled by his friend Taylor Barefoot, who also mixed the album in his Allston, MA studio.

Listen & Download “Wind Up Birds”

What I like most about Wind Up Birds is the way Andrew builds layers. This is a classic song structure and it’s executed perfectly by Mr. Emmons. The imagery of birds “winding” up fits perfectly within this upward flow. Andrew speaks about those special places we all have where we can go and all our troubles go away. For Andrew this is some spot located on the southern coast of Maine (hmm, wonder where that is).

His songs revolve around longing for simple times, of finding special locations across this great land of ours (Colorado), forbidden love (Romantic Suicide), or coming home early in the morning after what I can only imagine was an all-nighter in this “special southern Maine coastal town” he speaks of in Wind Up Birds (Coming Home Early). You know, the typical type of banter from a young twenty-one year old. In two of the songs, Wind Up Birds and Bright Faced and Burly, Andrew brings on a guest female vocalist to round out his songs. She’s another local Bostonian artist named Casey Desmond, who has been making waves of her own in recent years (most recently named a top ten artist of 2010 by Indie-music.com).

I asked Andrew to tell us a little more about where his style comes from and what his plans for the future are given he’s just about to head into his final year at Hampshire College. Below is a result of an email interview:

Kip: How long have you been writing your own music?

Andrew: Since I started playing guitar in the 4th grade.

Kip: Do you play any shows in the area? If so, where are some places you have played?

Andrew: I’ve actually never played a show in Boston, I’m really not around here that much these days. Most of the shows I play are out in the Northampton/Amherst area, which has a pretty cool music scene and a lot of great little venues. My favorite place to play out there is probably the Yellow Sofa, or the Tavern at Hampshire College.

Kip: Do you have any performances coming up?

Andrew: I’m headed to Paris for the fall semester, so the live shows are gonna have to go on hold for a little while.

Kip: You highlight a few influences on your Myspace page. Most are modern day artists. The only real classic band is The Beatles. Do you have any other artists or rather vocalists that you pinpoint as being a main source of influence on your approach to singing?

Andrew: I’d have to say my vocal style is probably the product of a lot of different influences, ranging from singers like Ben Gibbard to Meric Long. However, there are always those few influences that stick out more than others, so I’ll try and highlight those as my top three. 1. Devendra Banhart. All of his little vocal tricks, like the crazy ways he enunciates certain words, had a pretty big influence on the technical aspect of my vocals. 2. Guster. Listening to Guster, specifically focusing on the ways Adam and Ryan share the mic, taught me a lot about harmonies and how the spacing of vocals can basically make or break your song. 3. Paul Baribeau. Most people know him for singing with Kimya Dawson on her song “tire swing,” but his solo work really changed the way I thought about the whole song writing process, and he had a huge influence on my latest album, Homebones.

Kip: Do you see yourself going more towards the solo career like guys like Willy Mason or Andrew Bird or eventually having a band like you do now at Hampshire?

Andrew: I love playing in bands, and have had a great time with my current band Homer and Langley out at Hampshire College. However, I think that my style of writing and the way I go about formulating a song is probably more conducive to playing solo. But at the same time, some of my new songs, like Wind Up Birds, definitely need a small band when performed live. I guess that my ideal situation would be playing with a loose collective of constantly rotating musicians/friends, I’ve found that this approach relieves some of the tension and headaches that come with being in a band.

Kip: Who creates your album artwork?

Andrew: My album artwork is done by my good friend, and my cousin’s wife, Allie Willis.

Kip: Where can one purchase Homebones?

Andrew: Homebones should be available for purchase on itunes within the next 5 days.

Kip: Finally, you’re about to head into your final year at Hampshire. The looming presence of the “real world” is on the horizon. Do you have plans on becoming something other than a musician after college? (This one’s for your dad)

Andrew: The million dollar question. I really have no idea what my plan is. I guess I’m majoring in reproductive rights, but that was really just something that interested me at the time, and I’m not sure if I’ll do anything with it after school. Ideally, I’d like to be able to have my music support at least a small percentage of my life, and kind of figure out the rest from there.

You can listen to more of Andrew’s music at his myspace page and make sure to check out iTunes for Homebones in the very near future.