Gavin DeGraw – Make A Move album review
At first blush this album seems to have
heavier production, that it's more masculine and gritty. Yet upon
listening to it more it still has beautiful, softer elements like
some of his previous songs. Perhaps not quite as artsy and feminine,
there isn't that one usual bawl-your-eyes-out,
I-wish-I-had-someone-that-loved-me-like-that song that he has had on
each of his previous albums, it still evokes a range of emotions.
It's a more mature, less overly romantic, realistic approach to songs
like that.
There are times when the production
overpowers making it hard to decipher the words. Some of it seems
unnecessary but by the same token it pulls you in, completely
envelops you and you can't just listen to it casually like background
noise. Still, sometimes less is more.
Despite what some are saying, it's not
such a departure from his earlier work but rather a progression.
Better to progress than to stagnate and always sound the same on
every song you put out. This album is very much old Gavin but still
fresh and current. People that dislike it are forgetting previous
songs like Chemical Party, I Don't Want To Be, In Love With A Girl,
Cop Stop, Medicate The Kids, Relative, Sweeter, Radiation...all of
which are edgier, rocking songs so this album is not so different
that it should be dismissed as being too hard or selling out. Still I
was hoping that there would be a stripped down bonus track but I
haven't heard any mention of it from those that already have it in
other countries.
My most favourite things about music are
lyrics and vocals. I love words that paint a picture, that tell a
story yet are still vague enough that they allow you to see it your
way and are so open to interpretation. Gavin just knows how to be
descriptive in such a way that it's not completely about his
experience, his interpretation but how it affects you on a
personal level and for you to use your own imagination.
Vocally he is just spectacular in his range and ability to change it
up, particularly on songs with a slower beat where he can really play
with it. Vocals can sometimes make or break a song for me. He has
managed, once again, to come out with an album where there isn't one
song I don't like or that I would skip over although it's funny how
the live versions speak to me even more so.
Originally I was going to pick apart
each song but that would be giving you my own interpretation rather
than leaving that up to you. Besides there's so much going on, so
many elements from different genres touched upon as if he said, “I'll
take a piece of that and put it here. Maybe a dash of this and a
sprinkle of that”. I recall his saying something about
ingredients...quote from Billboard interview, “I feel like the
refrigerator has some nice ingredients in it and I just wanna make
the right meal”. He's managed to come up with a great mixture of
music for whatever you might feel like feasting upon. Each song has
it's own unique flavour yet works together without any one song being
so far out there that they don't blend well with the others.
Best I Ever Had
Make A Move
Finest Hour
I'm Gonna Try
Who's Gonna Save Us
Everything Will Change
Need
Heartbreak
Every Little Bit
Different For Girls
Leading Man
