Canadian-born singer songwriter Todd Koal recently released his new EP “The Spirit is Flow,” a self-described work of “transcendent acoustic pop,” that features smooth vocals and is permeated with an art-house vibe. Todd Koal is a singer songwriter in the traditional sense—the core of his work is singing and playing guitar, accompanied by a minimalist beat and some sort of harmonizing accent, occasionally keyboards and, on at least one occasion, a string section. The result is a sort of easy listening, throwback form of singer/songwriter music that has become rare as electronics and overproduction have permeated the genre.
Koal’s lyrics are a sort of spiritual and metaphorical storytelling and are sung in his clean, occasionally breathy, voice (which is quite amazing, if you compare it to his spoken voice—the guy has the deepest voice I’ve ever heard!). Ironically, the title track, “Spirit is Flow,” is perhaps the one song on the EP where he doesn’t put his best foot forward. The rest, though, is reminiscent of U2’s slower stuff, and if U2 is your thing, you’ll probably like Todd Koal.