How shall I sum up the sound of Alex Lopez for you? How about kind of ground breaking? While actually sounding like he’s not so over produced like some of the more modern sounding artists out there like John Maher, Lopez sizzles on guitar and manages to capture a sound that is old yet surprisingly fresh all at the same time. Trust me when I say there are legions of old school rock-blues fans waiting for this guy to arrive. Many of these retro tracks sounding surprisingly innovative, which makes up for their somewhat dated influences. From track 1-3 (Can’t Hide Your Love), (Morning Blues) and (Sing the Blues) the album decides to trend towards amazing and serves up 10 amazing tracks in all. All songs will get your blood pumping. All songs will cause you to reflect on your own life experience through the keen wisdom of Lopez’s lyrics. The musicianship from all involved is world class.
In the spirit of musical justice (as I find is severely lacking these days), I gave this latest CD from Lopez a good and proper listen and not only did I not hate it, but I actually kind of fell in love with it, and subsequently his guy in the process. The music therein is a bit more Past-Rock than Modern-Rock so it’s not lackluster as I was expecting. I can hear influences ranging from Delbert McClinton, Gregg Allman, Anders Osborne and the legendary Joe Bonamassa. Maybe even Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jimmy Barnes and Derek Sherinian. Most of the music is straight up Bluesy-Funk but much of it contains remnants of classic singer/songwriter. It delivers solid intros and outros, good playing and amazing musicianship all around and much in the way of musical angulation. The lyrics aren’t as annoying or sickly as I thought they would be. Vocals and Guitar work by Lopez – incredible as he commands a powerful low tonal registry all the while maintaining impressive vocal mojo and control. As a soloist – incredible. He really knows how to find the groove and let loose behind the microphone and fretboard. Alex Lopez brilliantly meld and blends all of the above together in a starkly unique way. The end result? A new sound with an old classic rocking blues feel.
There are 3 things I really like about Alex Lopez and this latest album “Is It a Lie.” For one I didn’t want to shoot myself with my pen like I do with most recent “poser” Blues Bands I’ve come across lately. No worries there. Two: this CD may be the most good timing, full tilt CD’s I’ve heard this year. Third: Alex Lopez and his band have the courage to write and play music the way they want to. A far cry from the “sell out” corporate puppet show bands the masses are scratching their heads at right now. Whereas 90% of the bands could care less about this approach as they just want to make labels happy. This is one of the most important attributes for me when reviewing music.
– William Calarese
URL: http://www.alexlopezmusic.com/
Buy on I-TUNES – https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/is-it-a-lie/id992333060
