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32 Below Every Little Thing about You Review by Gary Hill I suppose if you are releasing an album for the youth crowd raised on modern pop music, it makes sense to lead it off with the song that lands closest to that principle. That’s what these guys did. That song leaves a little something to be desired. The rest of the set works pretty well. This is actually mostly a country album. It should be noted that for recovering alcoholics this might not be the best choice. It’s shocking how many songs here are about – or at least talk about – alcohol. I suppose for the rest of us, grab your favorite drink and enjoy. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2014 Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

You, Me, and the Whiskey With a title like that one expects a real raunch and roll sound. This is much more in line with modern pop music. That’s in terms of the instrumental arrangement. The vocals bring it closer to a country sound. The vocals are much more successful than the music is. The guitar solo section does rock out a bit more. Of course, you need look no further than the title to know this fits the alcohol related theme.

Every Little Thing about You This is more like it. There is still some of that modern pop, overproduced sound, but it’s less pronounced than it is on the opener. This is essentially a country power ballad and it’s very effective.

Songs on the Radio After a bit of a mis-start, it’s two great tunes in a row. This is energized country music with a lot of rock in the mix. Now only is the song structure and musical performance great, the vocal arrangement is, too. The guitar soloing is particularly noteworthy, too.

We Were Young Another with some modern sounds in the mix, this is an effective, soaring kind of country rocker. It’s quite solid, but not really a standout.

Cheers to this Bar This song is essentially about picking up a woman in a bar. It’s more solid modern country music. The hooks are quite catchy, making this one a highlight of the set.

Someone New About the other end of the relationship, this is a strong country number. It’s pretty typical in terms of lyrics and song structure. For that reason it doesn’t really stand out. Still, it’s pretty good.

Drink for You I don’t know if these guys just like to sing a lot about alcohol, drink a lot of alcohol or both. No matter the reason, the whole thing is starting to get a little old. This is a good song, but not really all that special. It’s more of a pop song and less of a country one. Still, there is country music here.

What Did We Do Last Night And, they are drinking again. There’s a bit of a reggae vibe to this and a real party atmosphere. That saves this from being “too much of the same thing all over again.”

That Summer Night Well, this song about meeting up with a long lost love is good. While drinking doesn’t feature heavily here, it does get another reference. It’s becoming a cliché for sure. Still, this powered up ballad is one of the best tunes here.

Raise it Up While alcohol isn’t a central part of the lyrics in the first half, as one might expect it to be with that title, it is by the second half. This has a lot more of a rock sound to – and it’s that raunch and roll type, too. It’s a good song despite the one track mind of the lyrics.

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