Brian Ross is a solo artist from Woodbury, NY (that’s on Long Island). He travelled to adjacent Huntington to record his six-track Sidewalks EP.
Ross calls himself ”just one guy making songs,” but he displays solid songwriting and performance skills here. The tunes have the same subject, love—falling into love, falling out of love and messy breakups therein--he gives us several different takes on this universal subject. He casts a sarcastic light on “thanks,” for instance: “You don’t love me / You’re not sorry / For this heartbreak / Thanks for letting me know.” “XYZ”’s approach is almost manic with impressive stream-of-consciousness round-and-round storytelling. No matter how you are feeling about your lover, Ross has a song for you on Sidewalks. Musically, Sidewalks falls squarely into the indie-pop category. There are plenty of guitars and pounding drums (“Weather With You,” “XYZ,” “Unfinished Business”), pumping basslines, strong melodies and hooky choruses to go around. Ross sprinkles in some acoustic guitars and pianos, too (“Easier Said Than Done” and a notably good acoustic guitar solo on “thanks”), and uses these changes of instrumentation well to support the songs. Ross’ vocals are strong, and his voice fits the indie-pop sound. He exhibits very nice vocal control on the sweet “Weather With You” and soars on the climactic outro of “Easier Said Than Done.” Both of these songs feature sections of stacked-vocal backing “oohs” which sound terrific and add great texture. The album is strong throughout, but a couple of things didn’t quite work. The first three songs are all in the same key; the last three songs are all in the same key as well (but a different key than the first three songs). It’s a choice that doesn’t land, especially as Ross’ wide vocal range doesn’t limit his choice of keys. Finally, the drum levels were inconsistent with the kick drum on a few songs (“thanks,” “XYZ”) overpowering the mix and crackling the speakers. A little clean-up with the mixing and mastering would solve this problem. Ross gives us a short, bittersweet sendoff with the closing track “goodbye.” Let’s hope this is only a temporary departure while he creates another album for us!
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Critique/insightWe are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.
Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook
Archives
May 2024
|