If there’s one thing I really miss in today’s mainstream music scene, it’s variety. Pop songs about clubbin’ and Rock songs about unrequited love definitely aren’t few and far between. It also seems like serious instrumental integrity is becoming a thing of the past and disc-jockey beat loops are entering as the new. I can’t say that I don’t enjoy living in a time in which such a drastic musical movement is occurring, in all seriousness, it’s actually pretty exciting, but it really does hurt me to see that Pop Rock is paving the way for conformity and leaving individuality at the door.
However, there are some people out there who are doing a noble deed in trying to save the name of Pop Rock, by bestowing us with music filled with incredible depth and musical intellect. Unfortunately, most of these artists go unnoticed, despite the fact that their music could easily redefine the industry.
This week’s album (the album that simultaneously celebrates the comeback of Rodey’s Reviews), comes from one of those noble musical personas that lives right here in my current city of residence, La Crosse, Wisconsin. Dan Collins is currently a student at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, but his college life hasn’t stopped him from delving into the realm of piano influenced Pop Rock; and releasing an album of pinnacle greatness that should be enjoyed by the masses.
The album opens up with “Take on the World.” Alongside its jumping piano chords and intensity molding drum tracks, the idea behind the entire album is introduced and encompassed in this one track: new experiences and new emotions. As the title suggests, the song is about not taking the world for granted, but to embrace as much of it as you can. Rather than sit dormant, “we should step it up and live;” not only in respects to the earth, but in every aspect of our lives. Setting up a contrast, Collins’s lyrics in “The Fourth of July” describe the importance behind also embracing the simple things in life. The title track, “Dormitory,” is one of the highest points on the album. This upbeat composition with its intense heart-driven chorus and stylistically evolving verses is guaranteed to leave you pleased.
At this point in the review I feel like I should discuss one of my favorite aspects of the album. The next song “Woke Up at the White House (Pallid Dive),” brings the sound back to a calm and allows it to rise exponentially, differing itself from the style of “The Fourth of July.” My point is that this album has a great deal of variance and keeps you pulled in from beginning to end. This is something that a lot of today’s newly emerging artists are forgetting, but Collins executes it perfectly.
The next two tracks, “Snow Town” and “Monster” inhabit two completely different sides of the stylistic spectrum. “Snow Town” is a beautifully written ballad led by timid, yet passionate vocals from Collins, whereas “Monster” is the result of a smooth jazz and hard blues recipe with just a pinch of reggae feeling, making it one of the most intriguing sounds I’ve heard from an artist in a long time.
The next two songs dive into two tough emotions: the hardships of love and the sadness that comes with the loss of a family member. “On This Piece of Paper” and “Lullaby for the Patients and the Patience” really show the depth of Collins’s lyrical abilities. On top of that, “Lullaby for the Patients and the Patience” contains, in my opinion, the most instrumental integrity on the entire album, showing that in the right respects, less is more.
As the album progresses to its next track, “Hibernate” it starts to slowly expand its sound again. Then the album comes to one of my favorite tracks “Feelings Beyond Our Own.” This track gets my great approval because it talks about the importance of music in life. Collins discusses how no matter what situation, music can always “bring you home.”
“Epitome of Me (Remixed)” returns to an experimental sound, this time with electronic style and then the album closes with “Do Feel Fine,” a song that I feel takes every style visited on the album and combines them into one. It really makes for a great closure to the album, not too intense that you feel overwhelmed, but not too little that you feel like the whole was missing something. The end of the album also contains a ten minute informative commentary track provided by Collins himself, fittingly entitled “Dormmentary.”
So, do I recommend the album? Hell yeah I do! I’m not lying when I say that this is one of the greatest things to come out of a newly emerging artist this year. Dan Collins and a Piano truly is a hidden gem worth uncovering and gets my full support.
The album is currently available on iTunes if you follow this link:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=330290398&s=143441
or at The Big Cartel via this url:
http://dancollinsandapiano.bigcartel.com/
Also, if you'd like to check out more of Dan and his future ventures, take the following links to his Myspace and Facebook pages:
http://www.myspace.com/dancollinsandapiano
http://www.facebook.com/dancollinsandapiano
Last but not least, here is the link to the album so you can check it out on Napster:
still doing this? I was losing hope. :)
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