Hey there, I saw you looking.
It's always hard to review your friends. Even if you genuinely like what they put out, others will always call some kind of bias on your behalf. I've been friends with the boys from This Years Winner Is since we toured with them a few years back and I've reviewed their previous two releases on this blog and always given them huge regard. And why not? The two albums (especially Audiobiography) were genuinely astonishing efforts and I was sad when they called it a day.
But out of the ashes of TYWI I'm sure there will be a number of interesting new projects and I am here to review the first of those, with frontman Elliot Kinrade and his new solo EP. With help from former TYWI guitarist Ben Wilde and producer, Ste Quinn, I'd been told to expect something completely different; a cross between Justin Timberlake and Johnny Craig. When adding it iTunes I was intrigued as the genre classed it as pop.
Future History opens with 'You'd Hate To Be Me,' which is a solid track, with a sugar sweet acoustic guitar riff and a catchy chorus. I thought it was a shame that song ended when it did as I feel it would have benefitted from another chorus and the ending seemed to rather drip away rather than end with any real bang.
'So What If I'm Selfless?' is the next track and here you can definitely hear the JT inspired style, there's something very 'Cry Me A River' about it, both musically and vocally. There's a big ballad-type sound and the verse is something you'd expect to hear on mainstream radio. The build up before the chorus drops is really cool too.
The last track, 'Future History', is my favourite with a very 'Call Me Maybe'-esque synth and you can't help but to nod your head to the beat, especially the heavy drums in the build up. The chorus has a great edge to it and is instantly memorable.
I first want to attest that the quality of the recordings is fantastic and the range Elliot's voice has continued to develop since the first TYWI release but I do have a few issues with the EP.
The main thing is... I don't really get it. I'm just not sure what they are trying to do with the EP; where it's going. The genre is pop but I don't hear a pop album. This is a brilliantly composed effort, but to me that's not pop. It's too complicated with too much going on and almost forgets the simplicity of what pop music is in the first place. I mentioned the second track reminded me of 'Cry Me A River' but more like the LostProphets cover. Sometimes it just sounds a little forced.
Rather than Justin Timberlake meets Johnny Craig, what this album really reminds me of something like Owl City (but not annoying) or Lights, solid easy listening music, but I think this EP is just lacking that final piece of the jigsaw. In my opinion, the 3rd track 'Future History' is far and away the strongest and I feel that's the kind of style that is worth pursuing. I guess I was expecting more of this.
For this review I listened to the EP several times and it definitely grew on me. But I don't think that's good enough for a pop record. You need to bring in your audience on the first listen.
I don't want to take anything away from what is a very well composed EP with some great vocals. Don't get me wrong, this material is by no means bad but maybe I was expecting something different. That being said I do encourage people to go away and listen to this, just to tell me what I'm missing. Maybe Elliot will go and to become the next Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars and I really hope this is a success for him and I will be eagerly anticipating what comes next.
And seriously guys, a pop record without one use of the word 'baby'? Come on man, pop lyrics 101.
It's always hard to review your friends. Even if you genuinely like what they put out, others will always call some kind of bias on your behalf. I've been friends with the boys from This Years Winner Is since we toured with them a few years back and I've reviewed their previous two releases on this blog and always given them huge regard. And why not? The two albums (especially Audiobiography) were genuinely astonishing efforts and I was sad when they called it a day.
But out of the ashes of TYWI I'm sure there will be a number of interesting new projects and I am here to review the first of those, with frontman Elliot Kinrade and his new solo EP. With help from former TYWI guitarist Ben Wilde and producer, Ste Quinn, I'd been told to expect something completely different; a cross between Justin Timberlake and Johnny Craig. When adding it iTunes I was intrigued as the genre classed it as pop.
Future History opens with 'You'd Hate To Be Me,' which is a solid track, with a sugar sweet acoustic guitar riff and a catchy chorus. I thought it was a shame that song ended when it did as I feel it would have benefitted from another chorus and the ending seemed to rather drip away rather than end with any real bang.
'So What If I'm Selfless?' is the next track and here you can definitely hear the JT inspired style, there's something very 'Cry Me A River' about it, both musically and vocally. There's a big ballad-type sound and the verse is something you'd expect to hear on mainstream radio. The build up before the chorus drops is really cool too.
The last track, 'Future History', is my favourite with a very 'Call Me Maybe'-esque synth and you can't help but to nod your head to the beat, especially the heavy drums in the build up. The chorus has a great edge to it and is instantly memorable.
I first want to attest that the quality of the recordings is fantastic and the range Elliot's voice has continued to develop since the first TYWI release but I do have a few issues with the EP.
The main thing is... I don't really get it. I'm just not sure what they are trying to do with the EP; where it's going. The genre is pop but I don't hear a pop album. This is a brilliantly composed effort, but to me that's not pop. It's too complicated with too much going on and almost forgets the simplicity of what pop music is in the first place. I mentioned the second track reminded me of 'Cry Me A River' but more like the LostProphets cover. Sometimes it just sounds a little forced.
Rather than Justin Timberlake meets Johnny Craig, what this album really reminds me of something like Owl City (but not annoying) or Lights, solid easy listening music, but I think this EP is just lacking that final piece of the jigsaw. In my opinion, the 3rd track 'Future History' is far and away the strongest and I feel that's the kind of style that is worth pursuing. I guess I was expecting more of this.
For this review I listened to the EP several times and it definitely grew on me. But I don't think that's good enough for a pop record. You need to bring in your audience on the first listen.
I don't want to take anything away from what is a very well composed EP with some great vocals. Don't get me wrong, this material is by no means bad but maybe I was expecting something different. That being said I do encourage people to go away and listen to this, just to tell me what I'm missing. Maybe Elliot will go and to become the next Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars and I really hope this is a success for him and I will be eagerly anticipating what comes next.
And seriously guys, a pop record without one use of the word 'baby'? Come on man, pop lyrics 101.
