Back in July I had the opportunity to review one of the EP’s that came out of the Graffiti6 camp, the Annie You Save Me EP. It was a nice little introduction that offered up a taste of the bands sound, both acoustic and beyond, as well as a fantastic Blackstreet cover song. On their full length release I found an even wider expanse to their sound, which took me a bit by surprise, which is a bit funny seeing as how I had read their bio at Amazon in which singer Jamie Scott says he liked mixing it up and messing with people’s heads (as far as their sound is concerned).

The album begins with Stone In My Heart which offers up that same radio friendliness I found on the EP that, to me, is reminiscent of old school Manchester stuff. Very danceable stuff with a soul and pop flare but at its core substance. Then Annie You Save Me gets a revisit and I still think it sounds very similar to Coldplay and or Maroon 5, and after hearing the new Robin Thicke album I can see this song fitting well on his new album as well.

Track three Staring Into The Sun is where the album starts to take flight. You’ve got a psychedelic twinge to it with a funk bass line popping up every now and then with Scott’s soulful vocals bringing it all together. It’s an interesting change up but a welcome one that works.

This Man is the following track and takes yet another turn in the bands sound. it’s a very bluesy low-fi track that seems very minimalist in its approach and really showcases Scott’s vocal work layered with a lot of vocal effects. Not that autotune garbage, just effects like echo. In any case the track really presents Scott’s vocal abilities and range, not that the first few songs on the album didn’t already do that for you, this would be the clincher.  

Track 5, Free, leans more towards the singer/songwriter category bringing to mind artists like Ben Harper or Amos Lee. It has at its core a real Motown sound. Scott after all grew up listening to music from Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye among others and pays a pretty decent tribute to that sound here.

Track 6, Calm The Storm might be the only song on the album that I felt was okay but seemed a bit repetitive in the chorus. It’s a laid back little number with haunting vocals that sort of float across the surface of the track without really committing character to the track, In my opinion. At best I’d call it a filler track. Nothing more, nothing less.

As the album moves on there are even more change ups from the rocking Never Look Back to the Bob Dylan-ish Goodbye Geoffrey Drake to the Cure-ish Stop Mary. I’ve never heard so many change ups on one album other then a compilation album but Graffiti6 seem to make it work with only one really minor hiccup. I expect big things when the album drops next month. Definitely an album worth checking out. Enjoy.