
Blair Small – Home
Pop songwriters get a bad rap. But that’s only because there aren’t many of them who are any good. The majority of them, who can actually earn a living, are made to work together in group six and co-write tunes that get pitched to the likes of Katty Perry.
Sure, initially, the record labels financing these endeavours were excited to potentially get on the paysheet for the next Lennon & McCartney or the next Chinn & Chapman. Eventually, however, they decided that artistry needed to come second to obedience. Very few successful pop songwriters come up with tunes that mean anything to anyone anymore. They just come up with jingles that can be played in advertisements and at parties. And that’s why people who listen to alternative music don’t feel like they can trust pop music.
Blair Small is entirely a pop songwriter. As is evidenced by the single “Home,” the first things that Small looks for in a song are string melodies, chords that together create some kind of mood, and a flow to the lyrics.
These are all elements used in the most popular songs of all time, and there’s a reason why these compositions remain famous. But “Home” is not a cynical attempt at getting a hit no matter what. In fact, the song brings to mind Peter Gabriel’s 90s soul-searching music, as well as the kind of beat used across modern indie-rock. Yes, sometimes pop is not a dirty word, but you need someone like Blair Small to justify this belief.
Marty Gray – Lethologica
There’s no reason to dream of one day having enough money to book a big-name studio if a few gadgets and a “bedroom producer” hat can do the trick for a fraction of the cost. You’re better off spending time on bigger dreams.
And, indeed, a lot of people have. The only downside to this democratization of recorded music is that we risk forgetting what truly great-sounding records used to be like. Sure, I like trashy punk albums recorded on a phone mic as much as the other person, but what about the records that are meant to sound grandiose and otherworldly?
Creating that kind of sound, especially when you don’t possess the kind of funds invested in a Katy Perry record, is truly a wonderful skill. What’s more, unlike playing bass guitar or singing background vocals, this is something that can be immediately appreciated and understood.
Marty Gray’s “Lethologica” achieves that rarely heard, where all of the musical elements blend brilliantly. From the simple guitar riff that grooves like Deftones trying to play dance music to the pitch-perfect high vocals, Gray has fashioned a great pop-rock record. That sort of thing is rare, cuts to the noise and makes it so that Gray has no need to try and resort to gimmicks the way that most other bands need to do.