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First Hits Free
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Quantity in Basket:
None
Price: $13.00
Artist:
Tommy Ray!
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As we await the release of his band’s third record, Tommy Ray of
popsters The Cry! steps out with this punk-pop filled solo debut that will
immediately appeal to fans of Ryan Allen’s Extra Arms, Tommy Stinson/Bash and
Pop, The Buzzcocks, and the punkier side of Kurt Baker (Bulletproof
Lovers/Gold)!
It's reflective of how far he has come
as an artist. He's been working hard on this album for a few years now, and you
can hear his growing life experience coming into these songs.
“The
phrase ‘long awaited’ often turns up in my reviews. But I don't think it's ever been more suitable
than it is today. The Cry! released two of the greatest albums of the last
decade in 2011 and 2014, and we've been waiting for a follow-up ever since. The
long awaited ‘First Hits Free’ by Tommy Ray is not quite a Cry! Record, but it
is a solo album from The Cry!'s lead singer and primary songwriter. Many of these songs were written for The Cry!
but ultimately not chosen for the band's impending third album. His album is a little ‘less produced’ (and
that’s a big part of the charm) compared to The Cry!, but his songwriting has
never been stronger. Musically, the record has more of the power pop feel of
the first Cry! album vs. the glam-punk vibes of ‘Dangerous Game’. Even when he's writing about very serious
subject matter (which he frequently does on this album), Tommy has a knack for
wrapping it all up in these irresistible pop hooks - very much in The Cry!'s
patented style of '70s power pop and punk by way of the timeless melodies of
'60s rock and roll. If you just skim the
surface of these songs, you might take this for a textbook power pop album.
This thing is full of memorable melodies, hooky choruses, and the catchiest
guitar leads you could ever hope to hear. But lyrically, he pushes far deeper
than he ever has before. Songs like ‘Life Goes On’, ‘Hey Susanne’, and
‘Trouble’ find him coming into his own as a storyteller. While he's still writing love songs, they're
for the most part about the bitter letdown of failed relationships (‘Ain't No
Use’, ‘Tuesday’s Girl’, ‘Good Luv - Gone South’). ‘Take A Chance’ seems so upbeat and
innocent...until you really start paying attention to what Ray is singing! That's also true of ‘Voices’ - a punky number
that tackles the very serious issue of schizophrenia. ‘No Better’, the album's penultimate track,
finds his songwriting ascending to new levels of complexity and sophistication.
I'd call it the magnum opus of his songwriting career so far. While rawer than
both Cry! records, this ought to delight anyone who loved those albums. His style of singing and songwriting is
instantly familiar, and if anything he has refined and grown his talents over
the last six years. It is just a
fantastic pop record, and I find it a very authentic rendering of what it's
like to be a young man still trying to navigate adulthood. This is a guy who's
busting his ass to make it as a musician, and he's given us an album full of
his reality!” – FasterandLouder.com
GREAT!!
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