#not every song needs to be technical masterpieces to b enjoyed. sometimes a nice voice & a Pop Chord Recipe that makes ya shimmy is enough

[comradecowplant]

Chappell Roan's musical stylings still don't super ignite my soulfire but now having caught good luck babe & hot to go on the radio several times this week i admit the songs have grown on me quite a bit. perfectly nice fun indiepop earworms!

[thisaintascenereviews]

Album Review by Bradley Christensen Jordan Davis – Home State Record Label: MCA Nashville Release Date: March 23 2018

Let’s take a break from talking about heavy metal to talk about a genre of music that most metalheads absolutely cannot stand – country music! Hooray! I don’t listen to a lot of country music, although I did have a brief phase towards the end of 2017, where I listened to a lot of it. I listened to a lot of indie artists, anyway, but there was one artist that I was keeping my eyes on, because I really liked his sound – Jordan Davis. This Louisiana-born artist not only has a great-looking beard, but he’s also got a pop-country sound that I can really get behind. He’s somewhere between Sam Hunt and Mitchell Tenpenny. Hunt’s brand of country is very R&B-based, and it features a lot of 808s and drum machines, versus a lot of organic instrumentation, but Tenpenny’s brand of country is very similar, but his newer material keeps the same sound that both his and Hunt’s earlier stuff had, only with more organic instrumentation. Tenpenny put out a new self-titled EP, which is basically just a reissue of his last EP that came out in 2017, only featuring a new song, so I won’t bother to review that, but it’s a solid EP. The new song on it is really good, too, but this about Jordan Davis. His sound is right in the middle between the two, because he’s got that pop-country sound, but it’s not quite as pop-leaning as Sam Hunt. That’s good news if you don’t like pop-centric Sam Hunt is, even though you might love his voice. Davis has a very good voice, too, but his sound is more what you’d expect from a pop-country artist. He released a few singles last year, the biggest one being “Singles You Up,” which is currently rising in the ranks of country radio, but he announced his debut album, Home State, a few months ago. I’ve been looking forward to it, and keeping my eyes peeled for it, but it’s finally here.

I ended up giving it a listen on Spotify, I think the day after it came out, because I wasn’t horribly sure I’d be super into it I listened to it one night, but I enjoyed it a lot. Well, I enjoyed it enough to get a copy, anyway, but I’ve given the album a handful of listens, so how do I feel now? My opinion is very much set in stone, but I’m happy to say that I still enjoy this album. I love it, honestly. This is one of those albums that isn’t anything technically amazing, unique, or groundbreaking in any way, shape, and form, but it hits every checkmark on a list for me, especially when it comes to pop-country. This album is surely to please fans of pop-country, especially if you’re into Sam Hunt, Mitchell Tenpenny, or Dan + Shay, just to name a few artists. Starting with Davis himself, he’s got a really good voice. The hooks on this album are very infectious, especially when you listen to songs like “Singles You Up,” “Take It From Me,” or “Sundowners,” and that’s partially because of his voice being so good. He’s got a very smooth voice with a nice range behind it. I can’t say his lyrics are anything amazing, but that’s the thing. They don’t need to be. These are very sweet, cute, and sentimental pop-country songs that are about what you’d expect, but I feel like they’re interesting enough to keep the listener entertained. The instrumentation is also nothing to really write home about, and that’s what I meant about this album not being anything to write home about, because it’s technically a generic album. You’re not wrong if you say that, but this album hits all the right notes for me. I love his voice, and his lyrics are sweet and cute a lot of the time, but the instrumentation is a good mix between pop and country. It never leans towards one or the other, so he’s right in that gray area

This album’s also awfully short, only around 37 minutes, so it’s an album that doesn’t overstay its welcome in any way, shape, and form. Sometimes an album comes along that isn’t anything amazing, and when push comes to shove, I won’t defend this album as being a masterpiece, but it’s an album that I come back to a lot. I wanted to put those albums on my yearend list, especially last year, because it might not have been a super amazing unique album, but I didn’t really like how people would put these insanely unique, groundbreaking, or amazing albums that they barely listened to. Yeah, something might be off the wall, or unique, but that doesn’t mean it’s got a big replay value. Replay value is a big thing for me, and my favorite albums are ones that I come back to a lot. This one, well, it’s one that I’ve come back to a decent amount. Truth be told, I’ve been listening to a lot of metal, so I haven’t been listening to this as much as I would have if I’ve been listening to more country, or just anything else, but I have been listening to this. It’s not like I forgot about it after a single listen (that reminds me that I need to listen to that new Nathaniel Rateliff record that came out earlier this month), but it doesn’t exactly fit into everything else I’ve been listening to, so it’d be super weird to play randomly. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been listening to it, though, and I happen to enjoy this thing quite a lot. If you want some admittedly generic pop-country that’s done really, really, really well, you can’t go wrong with this. Honestly, if you listen to the song “Singles You Up,” and you really like, check out the rest of this album. That’s to say that if you heard one song from the album, you’ve heard them all, but that’s the general sound of the album, so if you like that song, you’ll enjoy the rest of the album. It’s definitely one of the better pop-country albums I’ve heard in a long while, so I’m here to say that the wait and excitement was definitely worth it.

[thisaintascenereviews]

Album Review by Bradley Christensen Soul Scratch – Down The Road Record Label: Broken Complex Release Date: August 18 2014

Oftentimes in my reviews, I’ll make a small statement, or mention an idea that I might talk about in other reviews. I like doing that, because it gives my reviews a sense of continuity. Sometimes they lead into each other, or I’ll talk about multiple albums from the same act, or certain ideas will bleed into other reviews. It’s just a nice way to keep things moving, flowing, and continuous, almost like a TV show or film series. The review in question was my last one, which was on the new self-titled George Morris self-titled album, and the idea that I wanted to talk about a bit more in detail are newly released albums and how I like to go in blind sometimes. Technically speaking, the new George Morris album was my first reviewed album of 2017 (not counting the two Nitty Gritty reviews I did on two other records), but it wasn’t the first album of 2017 I listened to. That would be the sophomore LP from California funk, soul, and R&B group Soul Scratch, entitled Pushing Fire. I came across these guys on Facebook, of all things, and it took me a bit to finally listen to this LP, but when I did, I was in love with it. My review of that will be coming soon, definitely, but I wanted to dive into any other albums they might put out. They only put one (not counting an EP), 2014’s Down The Road. I wanted to check this out, because when I find a new artist or band that I really like, I want to listen to more of their stuff. Since they only put out one more album, I thought I might as well check it out now. Down The Road is the album I’ll be reviewing today, but this is an album that I didn’t mind going into blind, only because I’d listen to Pushing Fire already (I listened to a clip of a song on Spotify, and I loved the clip enough to listen to the rest of the album without spoiling it for myself), so I had an idea of what I was going to get with this LP. At least for the most part, anyway, since Pushing Fire was a fiery, raw, and intense funk / soul album that had a lot of energy, all the while being very short, sweet, and to the point, so if that album was any indication of what to expect with the debut album, I was in for a treat.

Going in blindly can be a great thing sometimes, because you can find some great records, but that doesn’t mean you’ll always find a masterpiece. While I found a really great album to start off 2017 with Pushing Fire, Down The Road isn’t disappointing, mind you, but it’s not as great. That’s not to say it’s not any good, because it’s a really good record, but it does have some issues that Pushing Fire didn’t have. It makes sense, though. Debut albums often have problems in them, and this one is no exception. With that said, there are some great things about this LP. For starters, frontman Dale Spollett is one hell of a singer. He reminds me a bit of Nathaniel Rateliff, but not for the reason you think. Their voices are totally different, as Spollett is very clean, whereas Rateliff is very gritty, but they have the same kind of intensity, charisma, and power in their voices that I really love. He sounds even better on Pushing Fire, but on this LP, he holds his own quite well. He’s one of the best funk / soul vocalists I’ve heard in recent years. Even its sound is very good, too, but I’ll admit it’s a bit more drab than Pushing Fire. This album is mainly a straightforward soul album, and while it’s still done incredibly well, there’s not a lot of energy here. They sound like St. Paul & The Broken Bones, a band whom I really loved last year, but without a sense of raucous energy or intensity that they had. Not terrible, or anything close to that, but their brand of soul on this LP doesn’t quite hit as hard for me.  It sounds great, make no mistake, but Down The Road isn’t an album that I constantly want to revisit, at least in the same way as Pushing Fire. That album has its soulful moments, too, but they’re done a bit better, and they’re more sporadic. This LP does get very “samey” after awhile, and that’s one major reason why this album has worn on me with every listen, but it’s not like I don’t like this album at all, it’s just that there’s not a whole lot to really sink my teeth into.

At the end of the day, Down The Road is soul album, nothing more and nothing less. Take that as you will, but it works for me in a couple of ways. Not only is this style of music not heard that often in the mainstream, or at all, they perform is really well, so I’d basically equate this album to something like Coming Home by Leon Bridges. It was one of my favorite albums of 2015, but it was a very generic album. This is, too, and while this album is great, and if I heard it in 2014, it would have been one of my favorites, most likely, when compared to other modern soul / funk bands, or even their newly released album, it doesn’t quite measure up as much. That’s only because Pushing Fire does do a lot more, and it progresses their sound in a way that showcases all the best aspects of them. Moving into a funk direction is perfect for them, because it works insanely well, and to be fair, the soul elements are fine, too. I’d definitely recommend this if you’re into soul music, because if you’re into the genre, it’ll get the job done just fine. It definitely gives you what you’re expecting, and everything is done very well, despite how standard it might be. I’ve mentioned this recently, but sometimes you need straightforward music that you know what you’ll get before you even listen to it. That’s not always a bad thing, although I’ll admit that I like being surprised. I know that I’ve been comparing this album to Pushing Fire, but I’ve heard that album first, and that can be a problem when you get into a band’s discography. Sometimes the first album you hear might be their best, but this album is really good, too. I enjoy it a lot, and I wanted to make sure that I clarify that, just in case someone might think I don’t like this album. It’s a very good album, and a perfect example of how to execute modern soul music, but Pushing Fire is a bit better, because it progresses their sound, and does so in a way that I love. If you’ve listened to Pushing Fire, and you want to listen to their debut album, do it.