Fearless Reviews Series! ("The Storm" - ZZ Ward)
Dec 26, 2017 0:55:45 GMT -5
Post by fearlessarrow on Dec 26, 2017 0:55:45 GMT -5
Love the Way You See Me - Stephanie Quayle
Tracklist:
1. Drinking with Dolly
2. Winnebago
3. Selfish
4. Ugly
5. I've Got Your Six
6. You Should Have Told Me
7. Post It
8. Shoebox
9. Love the Way You See Me
10. Days Like These
11. Second Thoughts (feat. Lucas Hoge)
My thoughts on individual tracks:
"Drinking with Dolly" - 95/100 (A)
Even from the beginning, I am drawn in by the instrumentation that sounds COUNTRY!!! This track has a nice, gentle production and Stephanie Quayle's voice has a very gentle tone that I'm enjoying a lot! I like how she's name-dropping all these country legends too! What a unique touch to add to the "women talking about men" theme!
"Winnebago" - 90/100 (A-)
A bit of a turn from the opening song, this one's more uptempo. I found the drums (or the drum loop?) a bit distracting at first in the verses, but it does a nice job of creating energy for the song! This song has a nice breeziness to it, sounds like a nice song to listen to when you're in the car with the windows open!
"Selfish" - 96/100 (A)
The production is on point on this one! The song flows so smoothly (the production mainly, but Stephanie's voice also plays a part in this!)! I took a look at the lyrics and while I didn't think it was special, it did a nice job of conveying the story and I actually think the simplicity of it helps the song! My favorite off the album so far!
"Ugly" - 89/100 (B+)
Nice country songwriting that tells a story well and has so much imagery! I like songs that have a clear chorus so that was pretty much my qualm (the chorus seemed a bit too blended in with the rest of the song) until THAT LAST CHORUS!! When that hit, I was blown away, so much power behind her voice.
"I've Got Your Six" - 88/100 (B+)
The title already had me intrigued since I actually had to look up what the phrase "I've got your six" meant (It's basically saying "I've got your back" from what I saw). This is another upbeat, solid song. Stephanie has yet to disappoint me with this album!!
"You Should Have Told Me" - 91/100 (A-)
Another solid track. The repetition of "told me"s adds a nice accent in the chorus and makes the song an earworm!
"Post It" - 86/100 (B)
I don't know how much I buy the "he doesn't say he loves me but he shows it by putting it on a Post-it note'" concept but the song itself is once again a solid country song. I mean I guess the post-it thing could happen but...
"Shoebox" - 83/100 (B)
The verses on this one are !!! It's SO good! And the way she says "four years of us, in an old shoebox" is perfect too, I can definitely feel the emotions attached to that phrase! However, the chorus drags a bit, and I don't like how the drums and the melody/vocals sound a bit off together for some reason? It's the little drum sounds I can hear when she's in between lines in the chorus.
"Love the Way You See Me" - 90/100 (A-)
I felt like this was the poppiest track on the album, and is different in terms of sound from most of the tracks on this album. Here, her vocals are more of an assertive tone and has more force behind it. This track is another solid and catchy track. The four-note sequence (the notes that she sings when she sings "love the way you see me". It's everywhere in that song, even the guitars do it) sprinkled throughout the song is very catchy!
"Days Like These" - 90/100 (A-)
I appreciate the song's theme about there are days where you just get to have a good time even when it seems like you're busy all the time. I love how you can hear the country instruments even when it gets louder in the chorus!
"Second Thoughts" - 88/100 (B+)
Here's another case where simplicity works. I think the stripped down production works to convey the sadness, regret etc. after a failed love and the emotions that makes you turn to alcohol. The two's voice match decently well, and overall I thought it was a nice duet to close out the album.
Overall score of individual tracks: 986/1100 = 89.6%
Comments on the album:
I'm assuming this is indulge's pick (well, assuming he submitted it), and he did not disappoint! A great country album. First of all, I really enjoyed Stephanie Quayle's voice! It has such a smooth and gentle tone to it, but yet is packed with a punch when she needs it to have a bit more oomph behind it. The production was very solid overall, and I loved the country instruments used throughout the album, which is sometimes hard to hear so quickly in country albums these days.
Overall rating of the album: 90% (A-)