The debut release from guitarist Drew Davidsen A Good Life immensely benefits from the presence of songs like the single “Out of the Blue”. Davidsen is the sort of instrumental talent who never leans too heavily on his influences and, instead, proves to be superb at subsuming into his own consciousness and shaping them in individual ways. He’s likewise the beneficiary of top notch production rendering his performance and accompaniment with great clarity and an ear tuned towards balance. Some guitarists in this area are occasionally guilty of self-indulgence, playing too much when moments demand a more restrained approach and Davidsen comes through with an unerring approach to his instrument that makes “Out of the Blue” an even richer listening experience. It is the obvious product of a long and fruitful apprenticeship to his instrument and the dividends are sure to continue paying off for years to come.
REVERBNATION: https://www.reverbnation.com/drewdavidsen/song/28014974-out-of-the-blue
There’s a brief snippet of some elegant electric guitar introducing the song before Davidsen launches straight into the chorus. It has an effortless uplift given a little added grit thanks to his tense, staccato guitar lines. The drums could be a little more up front in the mix, but there’s no question they set a decisive tone for the song from the outset and never back off. Its tempo is a big reason for its success. There is a short instrumental break during the song’s second half allowing Davidsen’s guitar a chance to shine and he takes advantage of it in a remarkably restrained, artful fashion. His instrument has a thick, warm sound that ties in nicely with the rest of the arrangement and comes in at all the right times.
His vocal has pure power pop appeal. There isn’t much in the way of outright emotion creeping into his vocals, this is a relentlessly upbeat song, but his phrasing is on point thanks to how he explicitly tailors his voice to the material. His voice, likewise, cuts through the mix in such a way that it essentially serves as another melodic instrument in the mix and helps define the track as a whole. Few artists could produce such memorable material out of the gate, but Davidsen takes a song with some pretty common sentiments and makes it sound like he’s the first guy to sing about the joys of falling suddenly and deliriously in love. “Out of the Blue” affects its listeners in a straight-forward and heart touching way. There are no hollow theatrics here, no pandering for the audience’s love. It sounds like an unfettered expression from one human heart to our own and he dispatches the song with considerable aplomb. Drew Davidsen has the sort of major league talent that long careers are made of and this foray into the arena of public opinion will undoubtedly reward him much.
RELATED ARTICLE: http://www.deeppocketsjazz.com/good-life-drew-davidsen/
Jason Hillenburg
