This album is a mix of mellower tunes and more rocking ones. The references here range from classic rock to punk and Americana. It’s a good disc, but it could use a bit more variety as far as I’m concerned.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2014 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Faith Comes Crashing Down
Energetic hard rock opens the set in style. This is very classic sounding stuff. It’s tastefully punky, too with a bit of a roots rock sound. The dropped back movement is a nice touch and features some cool melodic instrumental work. As it grows upward it gets some psychedelia built into it.
Cool Crazy A mellower cut, this is very much a classic rock sounding piece. There is a lot of psychedelia built into this and it reminds me quite a bit of Tom Petty. It’s a great tune.
What Lurks Inside a Heart This starts off as a powerful classic rock ballad. This gets quite pretty as it grows out gradually. It does get more hard rocking later and has quite a meaty guitar solo.
Dyin' for Love This hard rocker is arguably the best piece here. Tom Petty and Bob Dylan seem to merge on this thing and it’s got some great rocking riffs driving it.
Her Smile This is a mellower tune that works quite well. It’s also quite classic rock oriented.
Nothing Can Save Us Now Another straight ahead hard rocker, this combines Tom Petty, Dylan and some punk into a tune that’s quite accessible. I love the guitar soloing on it. I particularly like the riff driven section that closes it.
Lililovin' A slow moving, almost folk rock based tune, this is one of the cooler ones here. It’s got a lot of character and charm.
Stop Bein' You This powers in with a jam that is well rooted in 1970s rock. It feels a bit like Humble Pie to me. The verse is more stripped back, but this thing is quite tasty. The instrumental section on this number is among the best of the disc and really this song is one of the standouts here.
Time the Master I’m reminded of Joe Walsh a lot on this number. Although this is more or less a melodic classic rocker, it has an interlude that feels related to European café music to my ears.
Like a Nail When It's Bent This piece is a classic rock based balladic one that’s quite nice. It’s one of the slower songs here.
Can't Cry No More Another ballad, this is not one of my favorites. I think it would have been better if it sat next to a more rocking piece. That said, there is a cool 1960s styled jam later in the piece that’s pretty cool.
Gone Away This is a mid-tempo song that’s not bad, but something a little more rocking in this slot would have added more variety.
Yeah Here we get the rocker for which I’ve been waiting. It’s retro styled and pretty cool.
