Making music can come and go from most people. You can be prolific for years and then you might not feel inspired for many years and then something happens where the fire returns. Jack B StickMan is from Ballyadams, Co. Laois, Ireland. The artist who is now in his mid 40’s is a guitar player who was in a doom metal band for sixteen years. The band released four albums and eventually StickMan left the band. He mentions he fell out of love with music when this happened in 2009. It wasn’t until he got married in 2017 that this event reignited the spark of creativity. He wrote a wedding song and then other ideas seemed to arise. This momentum eventually produced It's A Dog's Life which is a seven-song release.
The album starts with “Clouds At My Feet.” It begins with strummed major and minor chords on an acoustic guitar. There's what sounds like wood blocks which create some extra melodies as well as lead vocals. The song is about six minutes and there really aren't any significant changes. I really liked the groove but It felt repetitive to me by the end of the song. I thought it should have been around three minutes because of this. That being said I thought the vocal delivery was not only smooth but contains a good amount of heartfelt emotion. “Movin On” is a sort of bluesy and rock hybrid. There are some memorable melodies on this song. The guitar and vocal melody cover the same notes often. I liked the grooves but the drums sound programmed and didn’t have the dynamics of a live performance. The song is over six minutes but has more changes than the opener but really not much. It’s another song that felt a little too long for what it was doing. “The Wedding Song” felt like the highlight to me. This song is well written, well delivered and doesn't feel overly long. Some of this is due to the dynamics but mostly the transitions. There’s a smidge of spaghetti western which I liked on this song. “My Chair” is a rock song of sorts. The drums sound a little too clean and prominent on this song compared to others. Additionally the vocals are on top of the mix but overall it is a well- delivered song. I liked the vocal melodies, the guitar patterns and some of the lead guitar world as well. “Keep The Best Side Out” is a fun and loose song. The block-like elements are back and the vocals are more inside the mix on this song. Similar to “Movin On” the guitar and vocals melodies are often identical. “Legend” is around seven-and-a-half minutes long. This song had the most notable hook on the release. It felt elevated from the verse. Last up is “It’s A Dog’s Life” which is sort of funny and even contains some barking. One funny line was “It’s a dog’s life / you don’t need no wife.” My main critique is one I’ve been hinting at. The songs felt a little long. I think some trimming here and there would have helped with the flow of the songs. On the other hand there’s a good amount to appreciate here as well, so take a listen.
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