American singer, songwriter and all around musician and busy nice guy Phil Vincent is also participating in several bands. This one, Tragik, is one of them.
Together with Damian D´Ercole on guitars (a great find!) and Dirk Phillips on drums, Phil has so far released 3 albums under the Tragik banner of which Outlaw is the second. Latest opus And We All Turn To Dust will be reviewed some time later.
Style wise it is definitely Vincent influenced melodic hard rock. For me, Tragik is sounding different because of the keyboards, especially the use of loops in some tracks. This creates a vibrant kind of tension other albums with Phil don´t have. Don´t worry, no techno stuff here, it is still hard rocking music. Most of the time anyway 😉
I understand some people don´t like the arrangements on this record. I for one think it really adds to the discography of mister Vincent. I even consider this one of his most adventurous work, also on the production side of things. His trademark vocals have hardly sounded any better and melodies are still present, but the guitars sound more heavier at times. And as said, more room for keyboards.
A lot of albums feature the best songs up front. In this case I feel they close the album. To open with a ballad type song is a bold move. And things only get better. Like this one a lot, great stuff!
Personal play tips: What You Give, Just Can´t Get Enough, Who´s Gonna Make The First Move (or just take a random pick).