Band: Vocal Few (Facebook)
Album: She’ll Be Right
Label: Unsigned (Album Link)
Release Date: January 10th, 2012
Reviewer: BrodyB
- We’ll Make it Someday
- The Fountain
- Every Second
- Mexico
To anyone who knows me, my love for The Classic Crime is no secret. From the first time I watched the video for the band’s debut single, “The Fight”, I fell in love with their catchy rock and roll sound led by vocalist Matt McDonald’s rough, yet ever so melodic vocals. In the years since, I have been keeping up with all things Classic Crime. That being said, it was a no brainer for me to check out Matt McDonald’s new project he announced he would be staring with his wife Kristie.
Vocal Few offer a modest, toned down acoustic folk sound with a sprinkle of piano and orchestral segments for good taste. I find the musical simplicity of “She’ll be Right” to be a fantastic accompaniment to the amazing vocals shared between Matt and Kristie. This toned down instrumentation allows more of the focus to be on their soothing melodies rather than excessive guitar work. On the note of vocals, Matt and Kristie split singing duties about evenly allowing for smooth trade offs adding a more dynamic effect to the album.
Starting off with the upbeat We’ll Make it Someday, the Vocal Few set the tone for what is to be expected in the next three songs, simplistic instrumentals, dynamic complimentary vocals, and soaring choruses. The Fountain is a much slower song, primarily driven by piano and the McDonald’s sincere pleadings to, “Come and Drink From the Fountain”. Possibly my favorite part of this song is the subtle guitar in the background. I felt that it really rounded out the song and gave it a very full sound. My favorite song off “She’ll be Right” is the third track, Every Second. The most upbeat song offered on the record. It ponders death in the form of being in a crashing airplane. The bridge of this song is stunning as Kristie repeatedly sings, “Halleluiah” behind Matt as he proclaims, “I never dreamed this life for me but I am not afraid/At 35,000 feet I make my peace with fate/If my work here’s complete, before we hit the ground/May we sing the truth that sets us free/‘Cause every second counts” . The album closes with a song that I could imagine being a b-side Classic Crime song except for the fact that with husband and wife singing it together, Mexico seems a lot more personal. I can see this being a song I will play a ton this summer as it is a romantic song about running away to Mexico with each other. The simple, toned down acoustic really made the song feel more intimate and personal in my opinion.
While “She’ll be Right” is an incredibly charming album, there were a few things I was not particularly keen on. First and foremost, I understand it costs tons of money to record songs and being unsigned, with no help, recording is an incredibly expensive endeavor. However, with that being said, I felt the record starts almost as soon as it ends. Just as I feel I am really getting into the mood the album presents, I feel like it is abruptly cut off. At the least, I think it would have been cool for them to add their cover of Jackson on the album.
Besides the issue in length, I thought The Vocal Few provided an excellent first showing sure to capture more fans than curious Classic Crime fans just checking out what else Matt has to offer. With inspiring lyrics, beautiful melodies, and a pleasant musical backdrop “She’ll be Right” is a fun folk pop album almost everyone should enjoy.