The mix of modern and old school is pretty complete here. There are some over=produced moments for certain. Still, it works reasonably well despite that. I like it best when it gets into harder rocking territory, though.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
On My Way
Roots music merges with a more modern pop sound here. This is both organic and artificial in texture at the same time. It’s an effective piece, but feels just a little over-produced to me.
New Suns Although there is less of the roots sound here, the verses do have a rather organic element. The choruses land well in the “over-produced” territory, though. It’s a good song despite the production problems. I’d love to hear a more “clean” version of it.
Young Tigers On the one hand, this more of a pure electronic pop music song. The thing is, it doesn’t have the over-production issues that plagued the first couple songs. Add in some compelling vocal performances, and this is one of the highlights of the disc.
Love, Youth, & Glory Now, this is closer to the rocking sounds of the first couple songs. Unlike those two, though, it doesn’t suffer from the over-production. That makes this alt-rocker one of the best songs here. It’s a lot of fun, really.
Heartless Come Around Some of the melodies on this feel too close to some on the previous cut. That problem could be easily fixed by changing the order of the songs. Of course, it could be an intentional way to tie the two numbers together. Beyond that, this is another strong rocker. It has roots sounds, modern alternative rock elements and more. It’s catchy and just plain cool. This abruptly segues into the next piece.
Outro This instrumental ties up some familiar melodic lines in nice fashion. It’s almost a prog rock piece, but in a modern way.