The Canadian multi-instrumentalist and former punk musician continues with seemingly traditional country music on his fourth solo album. Relying on an aching pedal steel guitar and soft strings, If I’ve Only One Time Askin’ <\/i>places Romano in front of balladry where plaintive tones are as present as dusty atmospheres. <\/p>\n
Drawing comparisons to Robbie Fulks, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard, Romano takes cues from the ’60s and ’70s across the album, and while Romano is still a youngster by most standards, his music emanates from an old soul with much heartache to sort through. Opener \u201cI\u2019m Gonna Teach You\u201d starts off with an orchestral and cinematic feel before moving into a quiet, piano ballad that aches and moves with a classic feel. \u201cOld Fires Die\u201d follows and is more subdued, as Romano confesses intimate details with an equally intimate sound. \u201cStrange Faces\u201d picks up the pace into modern folk-rock meets timeless country, and leaves an impression of somberness and boundless talent. <\/p>\n
In the middle, \u201cAll The Way Under The Hill\u201d is a romantic, slow burner with crying pedal steel and strong vocal work from Romano, and the title track, one of the best moments on the album, showcases Romano\u2019s skills as both a singer and intricate songwriter. \u201cThe One That Got Away (Came Back Today)\u201d brings in horns and retro feelings, and it stands as the best of the ballads here. <\/p>\n
Near the end, \u201cTwo Word Joe\u201d brings back the twang of Romano\u2019s earlier work, and his cover of George Jones\u2019s \u201cLearning To Do Without Me\u201d puts a modern twist on a country classic. The album exits on \u201cLet Me Sleep (At The End of The Dream),\u201d an ideal tune for slumber\u2019s grasp with elegant strings and soothing guitars. <\/p>\n
Romano would go on to release two albums in 2016, one of which (Ancient Shapes) <\/i>steers right into proto-punk sounds, further illustrating Romano\u2019s diverse abilities. Though Romano can play many instruments, here his baritone pipes are at the forefront, along with the lush piano work. The album digests best taken as a whole, as the songs flow in and out each other, piecing together stories of broken hearts, jilted lovers, and betrayal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":32890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[9873],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-44663","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-daniel-romano","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44663","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\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44663"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44663"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}