One should never underestimate the power of building a good track order for one’s release. But when your album covers a pretty wide range of styles, how you go about? I guess Cumbrian artists John Wiseman has had something to think about after completing the recording of his third album…
Because this is an album that is all over the place. From pop, to rock, to jazzy, to electronic and back. Now I do not mind experimentation or variation. It’s the spice of life. But I can also understand that an artist is asking a lot from his (would be) audience when the output is so diverse. Many critics love to put a certain tag on a release and making things difficult for them is often not appreciated.
So you understand I have been struggling a bit to find the words to describe my listening experience. Many tracks on this release are catchy, like On Your Side or Grow Up. This type of tracks has a bit of Eighties pop vibe that many people still appreciate. Won’t Last or Calling Out sound more modern, even when their backbone is not unlike the ones mentioned before.
But then comes the kick in the teeth; after listening to this album back to back a couple of times, these difference seem to iron out a bit. In a weird kind of way it all starts to make sense! So where I was first tempted to say that John might consider grouping his songs and releasing them under different names to attract a specific audience, now I am not longer sure. Even when I do think there is room here and there for improvement as not everything sounds convincing.
Make up your own mind, but the more often I heard it, the better it got.
