Second volume in a trilogy from Toby Jepson, formerly of Little Angels, Gun, Fastway and Wayward Sons.
Jepson describes it as a raw exploration of mental health and recovery. The seven songs here form part of the conclusions he drew from is way out of the darkness. He outlines this in more detail as track one – the ‘Introduction’ which is a spoken word piece
The album, surprisingly, is not a gloomy ride. What sets him apart is his consummate skill as a song-writer. First song (Don’t Wanna Be A) Rock ‘n’ Roll Star is a cheery glam-rock riffing song about what he calls ‘the nonsense’ of stardom. That may well be but it’s an infectious slice of pop-rock all the same. Some People Are Trash is an equally well-crafted slice of power-pop/ rock with a great build-up outro, while the pulsing verses and big chorus of Strong Enough are a treat too.
Time for a ballad, and Falling In Love Is Harder (Than You Could Ever Prepare Your Heart For) is compelling and powerful. Yeah it goes big on the emotion, but the sugary additives on the chorus are used well and to telling effect. Nothing To See Here by contrast sees the guitars on full throttle with some wide screen synth strings for added colour. It’s scintillatingly good stuff!
Back to the power-pop/ rock for the breathless rush of Before I Break, before the concluding Creeping Up Slowly which Toby says is ‘an observation of loss and longing.’ It’s obviously heartfelt but it’s the only track I find drags on without doing much for me. That being said I would still say there’s enough sheer talent in the song-writing, playing and production on this album that justifies it as a fully genuine 10/10.