Bill Barlow is rising to the surface, and it’s not a small sapling breaking through the concrete. This is a loud firework show, and it’s displayed with class, effort and stellar songwriting. The prolific musician has put all his tastes together to make some of the best album collections we’ve seen and heard in a long time. The collection here is extensive and a joy to explore. If you have headphones, I suggest you put them on. If you have excuses, I don’t have time for them. This one is called Out of Obscurity. Damn right, Bill.
The opening single is as much a statement piece as any. A scrumptious, caramel-dense guitar lick opens the album, bringing just a distinct display of tone and his soothing vocals to the picture. It is a pop rock thrill but balanced rather than being a flashy jacket that covers an album. Rather than giving long, opinionated bio elements, Bill Barlow lets his music speak the loudest. Gonna Fly is the second single, but you’ve got a relish that stays on the top of your palate. This is rock royalty, the trifecta of riffs, vocals and a steady rhythm becoming your poison for the play. I enjoyed the kind of punctuations he leaves in the tracks, especially when the vocals stretch out and lead into a delectable guitar solo.
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I would never expect to be greeted by a funk number in this album, but diversity seems to be his strength. Bill Barlow is a master composer, not looking for the genre he likes but the mood it brings. Searching was a number I kept returning to for the kind of volume dynamics he was able to achieve while creatively flowing with a damn good tune in mind. I would focus deeper on more tracks, but the volume given quite honestly feels like a gift you don’t deserve. Frustration becomes a ballad of pain and true expression. These are the songs that don’t just break the bubble of genres but become the poetry that graces some pages.
Bill Barlow is not restricted to a dream; that’s why each song feels like a postcard from another place. It might be a close moment or memory that he keeps dear to himself but expresses through the flow of tune. It eventually becomes a thrilling confluence of instrumental mastery, vocal direction and unparalleled understanding of rhythm.
Though my journey was extremely fruitful through this album, songs that took my breath away were many. Songs like Never Try to Imagine brought an R&B aesthetic, while changing the tone and depiction of Bill Barlow and his landscape. This is the kind of canvas you feel like painting when you put time and effort in. From single releases to an album that will remain in your memory for a long time. Welcome Bill, out of obscurity:
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