Sean Wagner – All The While

contributor: Hoyt Emerson, September 26th 2009

Following through with plans and investments is a testament to the drive behind any person.  It seems more and more we are so constantly being bombarded with what we should be doing that it makes it difficult to focus on what we want to be doing. Whether it be our job, our relationships or our vices, it takes a toll on staying focused for very long.  Sean Wagner has had all these types of distractions over the last few years, but has that stopped him from following through with his goals?  Nope.

His first full Portland release, All The While, is a culmination of tons of live shows, multiple musicians, hours of mixing and whole lot of finger crossing.  Sean Wagner has been in Portland for around 3 years now.  A Boston transplant, he came to Portland looking for work and music.  He eventually found both in a job and a band to start playing out live extensively. Rigorous live shows began to fine tune his large body of songs he had been working on.  If you talk to Sean the first thing you’ll notice is that he is modest about his abilities.  On All The While, however, his songs shine through with the pop sensibilities of Elvis Costello, The Cars and Spoon.  The latter of those examples is very apparent on his song “Time Will Tell”.  A raucous of horns, upbeat hand claps and playful lyrics, the song is about as contagious as any could be.  The Costello sound of Wagner’s songs are most obvious in his vocal delivery.  Wagner is not the most proficient singer, but in the same way Costello wasn’t either.  That subtle break in the voice, the slightly flat sounding melodies all come together to add to the quirkiness of his songs.  And with an impressive array of musicians coming in to perform Wagner’s compositions, it helps to further drive the overall vibe of the music.

From a purely songwriting stand point Wagner has the very, very rare ability to write ridiculously catchy songs that refuse to leave your mind long after you’ve stopped listening.  Depending on how you feel about Wagner’s music this could be good or bad.  The reality is that you have to give Wagner a lot of credit for being able to produce such and extensive album of hooks and choruses.  Songs like “Warning Signs”, “Let’s Go” and “Boston” can make your Aunt tap her feet while being the hipster’s guilty pleasure.  It’s the grey area that many artists wish they could tap in to.  For Sean Wagner, it just comes naturally.