Freddie Bourne is an artist from New Jersey. He was in a couple of bands in high school, created a popular Youtube channel and released an album. His most recent release Vulnerable Commercialism (Live) is a stripped back live show displaying some of his songs.
This release reminded me of the VH1 storyteller’s series they used to air. Bourne gives some preamble to what the songs are about before playing them. The first song is “Summers in Jaxson (Live)”. I have to admit the story made me laugh. Bourne mentions it's about a first love that he had which isn’t particularly funny but the part that made me chuckle is when he mentioned that he was in middle school and about twelve. I’m thirty-eight now but still remember that age. I don’t think I remember anyone at that age who was even interested in the opposite sex, let alone in a relationship. I was too busy wrestling with my friends, running around town and just getting into trouble - maybe times have changed. The song is a sentimental piano pop ballad. It’s covered in melancholy and nostalgia and reflects on those old childhood days in a clear and concise way. He goes on to poetically lament about the relationship. The songs seem to unfold like a timeline. Bourne sings about passing notes in a yearbook and then gets to her moving. It felt like a performance you might hear on one of those shows like The Voice where the guy or gal stops and one of the judges is in tears. Up next is “Rx” which has an interesting tale. He talks about battling with anxiety, going on medication and wondering how it was going on to affect the creative process. Bourne claims it didn’t affect the creative process which I actually think would be a very hard thing to figure out. At any rate, the song is more about the “fear” of what it would do. The mood is very melancholy and dramatic. It’s very much in a similar mood to the first song but even pushed further. The explanation of “Maybe We Can Get Some Coffee Instead?” was a little vague and broad. It dances on themes of observation and intent. Bourne choses to play another song that is again very dramatic and melancholy. In fact, the closer “A Girl” which is about sexual assault hits almost the same exact emotional residue. My only critique with this particular release is I wanted some more emotional variety. I like a good tearjerker on an album but after four in a row I felt emotionally exhausted. Suffice it to say even just one song that felt upbeat, or jazzy or anything besides sentimental melancholy could have broken the mood slightly and provide just enough levity but I do understand he may have just wanted to play into one emotion. Let me be known that Bourne has many different shades of musical talent. On this release however he shows his talent as a pianist and singer which is exceptional. I’m sure there were more than a few people crying that night. Take a listen.
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