There\u2019s always a fine line to walk when it comes to earnestly soulful singer-songwriters armed with acoustic guitars. For every Elliott Smith whose lyrics are consistently pure genius, there\u2019s a thousand more clich\u00e9d hacks drowning in self-sorrows and emo. So where does Iowa native and recent Los Angeles transplant Jason Reeves fall within the fray on his latest EP? <\/p>\n
Ever the discerning critic, I was pretty much sold just by seeing the album\u2019s beautifully lush cover art and, because I\u2019m such a sucker for a good metaphor, the title Hearts Are Magnets. <\/i>But now that I\u2019ve rambled for 90-something words without ever actually mentioning Reeves\u2019 songs, let\u2019s get to the music itself. <\/p>\n
Hearts Are Magnets <\/i>opens with the quietly gorgeous \u201cPhotographs And Memories,\u201d which combines softly chiming piano, understated acoustic guitar and Reeves\u2019 soaring, graceful voice to create a powerful anthem of love and longing. \u201cI need your smile, I need your eyes, I need you dear \/ \u2019Cause every line on your face makes a beautiful maze for my eyes to trace,\u201d he sings and every word cuts deep to the heart, his clear-eyed honesty and the track\u2019s subtly crafted melody lines ultimately rendering it unforgettable.. <\/p>\n
Drawing inspiration from Bob Dylan and James Taylor, among numerous others, Reeves\u2019 songs are simple but never simplistic portrayals of love\u2019s intricacies infused with a blank canvas sense of imagination. Among these is \u201cPretty Eyes,\u201d a lovelorn yet simultaneously optimistic song in the same vein as \u201cPhotographs and Memories.\u201d Backed by lilting guitar and downbeat drums, the soulful, endearing vocals are nevertheless what truly shine, allowing the song\u2019s sole somewhat awkward line, \u201cYou couldn\u2019t see the road and it was scaring me \/ How beautiful you are when you get crazy,\u201d nevertheless sound poetic and profound. <\/p>\n
Next up is \u201cGasoline,\u201d the EP\u2019s most high-energy track and proof Reeves can seamlessly transition from ballads without skipping a beat. Replete with a catchy chorus and thrumming guitar riffs along with one of the most oddly intriguing lyrics I\u2019ve heard of late (\u201cAnd I\u2019m burning up much faster than Keith Richards on PCP\u201d), \u201cGasoline\u201d is inherently radio-friendly as well as an instant favorite of mine. <\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly\u201d and \u201cThe Sun Shines On Everything\u201d veer the album back towards a less intensive pace; both relatable and heartfelt, Reeves further displays a gift for crafting memorable melodies as well as consistently delivering engaging, expressive vocals. <\/p>\n
On Hearts Are Magnets, <\/i>Jason Reeves bypasses any notion of dime-store metaphors to emerge as a force to be reckoned with; more than just a musician, he is as poet, adeptly sculpting lyrical imagery that resounds far beyond the bounds of a half-hour EP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":28771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[7946],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-40267","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-jason-reeves","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40267"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=40267"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=40267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}