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I get lots of music in my mailbox. And I\u2019m not complaining; helpful artists, labels and publicists send me a steady stream of sounds, and it\u2019s not uncommon to discover some new music that way, music that would have otherwise passed by without my notice. There\u2019s so much of it out there.<\/p>\n
Being a writer, I do in fact peruse the one-sheets (as they\u2019re known) often \u2013 but not always \u2013 included along with the CDs. Because of the volume of unsolicited submissions received, those one-sheets can help guide my first-blush evaluation of a disc. If it says \u201cprog,\u201d I\u2019m predisposed toward being interested.<\/p>\n
If it mentions Americana, alas, I am not. The genre holds no fascination for me; none whatsoever. But wishing to be a fair-minded sort, I do listen. And in doing so, I occasionally \u2013 but only<\/i> occasionally \u2013 find music that piques my interest.<\/p>\n
Which brings me, finally, to You Got This<\/i> from the curiously-named Yahtzee (Rhymes with N\u2026 never mind) Brown. On the start of my first listen, I don\u2019t get the Americana tag at all. \u201cTake it Back\u201d as a breezy, simmering vibe with some tasty indie rock elements. True, the song\u2019s middle eight goes somewhere different (and sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb), but it\u2019s an appealing way to open an album. \u201cBig Friday\u201d does have a subtle heartland feel, with some sweet vocal harmonies and a taut arrangement; it\u2019s another winning tune.<\/p>\n
The poke-in-the-eye title of \u201cDad Rock\u201d is a bit of misdirection. Some minimalist electronic textures and Brown\u2019s plaintive vocal add up to a nice tune that takes its sweet time to unfold. But rock it does not, dad. \u201cI am Waiting\u201d showcases some straightforward and attractive piano work; unless the song that precedes it, it does<\/i> rock.<\/p>\n
One of the album\u2019s most popular tracks, \u201cI Guess I\u2019m Sorry\u201d features the most finely-wrought arrangement and production on You Got This<\/i>. I\u2019d call it a Spotlight Track if I were penning the aforementioned one-sheet. The lead guitar moves closest to what might \u2013 but only might<\/i>, I say \u2013 be considered Americana. Perhaps notably, the lyrics mention drugs, a recurring theme on the collection. (Makes me wonder what the \u201cThis\u201d of the album title might be, heh.)<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching Over You\u201d is a catchy slice of twangy rock in an Old 97s vein, which is a rich vein indeed. It\u2019s the best track on the record, and suggests a creative direction that young (22 y.o. for those who might wonder) Yahtzee would do well to pursue in future endeavors. \u201cSidelines\u201d is the requisite creaky piano-and-vocal number, but as such things go, it\u2019s effective. A sweeping string arrangement eases into the mix, adding plenty of drama.<\/p>\n
Some very retro Chamberlin (or Mellotron, or samples thereof) introduces the plaintive \u201cHalloween.\u201d The song\u2019s inclusion suggests that Yahtzee Brown is inclined toward balladry, and style that suits him well. You Got This wraps up with the unabashedly twangy \u201c8 Weeks.\u201d Even with its gentle string arrangement, the song \u2013 with its pedal steel tones and lyrics mentioning Jesus and salvation \u2013 is the most explicit bid for the Americana audience (in other words, not me).<\/p>\n
But as a debut designed to highlight the stylistic versatility and creative potential of a young artist, You Got This<\/i> is successful, and deserves a spin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I get lots of music in my mailbox. And I\u2019m not complaining; helpful artists, labels and publicists send me a steady stream of sounds, and it\u2019s not uncommon to discover […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,39,49,62,65],"tags":[5687],"class_list":["post-29433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-americana","category-indie","category-new-release","category-rawk","category-review","tag-yahtzee-brown","cat-6-id","cat-39-id","cat-49-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29433"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29435,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29433\/revisions\/29435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}