Red Scare Industries – March 27, 2020
An acoustic record that keeps pulling me back
This is something that's long overdue for two reasons. The first reason is that Sam Russo's newest album, “Back to the Party,” actually released over three months ago. The second reason is that I can't stop listening to it. From the start, I was hooked.
One of the main reasons I cannot stop listening is that the album is different from anything else I've reviewed for TGEFM. There are no blast beats, chunked out guitar, or growled vocals here. The music is mainly acoustic guitar (with some added instrumentation throughout) and Russo's voice, and you know what? It sounds damn good. As someone with varied musical tastes, “Back to the Party” just hit my musical pallet in the right way. The passion in his voice and the energy behind the guitar just nails it.
I could go through track by track and highlight why each song is amazing (and they are), or I could run down the intricacies of his lyrics (there's not enough space here); but I'm not going to do either of those things. Instead, I want to point out my two standout tracks and then leave the rest for you to decide. I have listened to “Anne” more than any other song on this album. The vocal delivery is emotional, engaging, and beautiful. “Good and Gone” gets across the frustration of dealing with people, life, and the world more effectively than most songs, and the vocals get this across without being overly aggressive in delivery, which is impressive to say the least.
I feel like I should offer some form of criticism in an attempt to avoid coming across as a fanboy, but I have enjoyed this album so much that it would be dishonest to write something critical simply for the sake of being critical. This is an album I will keep coming back to for some time. It's honest, soulful, and hard to stop listening to.
Writer and lover of music, horror, and beer.