Nick Gallant has been heard by millions of people but they may not know where from. Nick is in fact the voice over of the Guitar Hero games! His music certainly features guitar but is definitely aimed at the laid back approach to music, showcasing his Santa Cruz lifestyle.
The title track opens the album with cute Uke, hand claps and summery backing vocals. Nick’s voice certainly doesn’t sound like his video game counterpart but it suits the chilled out vibe perfectly. It’s like a mobile advert track that not annoying! That’s hard to come by! “Mr Reckless” has a lazy bass line that spilled over the speakers as the track shuffles itself along with its tropical tinges. “Joyous and Free” is a little less breezy although it continues to speak positively in the lyrics. There are strings and poppy pizzicato elements to the track that give it pace and gusto. It comes across as a sincerely sweet track as it swells and bursts.
The summery guitar and funk is back with “Sister Pain” whilst “Hourglass” has an electric guitar element to it and a stereo vocal sound that places it right in the mid 80’s in production value – something that a happy Springsteen might do. “Blue Eyes” instead gets the Uke out for a bright and beautiful track that is ready to be a summer anthem with its metallic drum beat. “Gonna Make It To Rincon” is a short acoustic melody with a Hawaiian slide guitar twist to it whilst “Griffith Park” is a piano rock track that has a completely different production value to it and sounds much louder than the rest of the album! It does however do teenage angst pop rock perfectly with its four chord chugging and minor chords interspersed throughout.
“Hold On” is one of the few four-minute tracks and it is the quiet track of the album as Nick’s vocals are blurred together to create a humming hushing sound. His voice sounds so smooth in this track and the instrumentation is beautifully arranged to not take centre stage, letting his vocals do all the work. “Waiting For the Rain” takes things to the country edge with acoustic twangs and wooden box percussion. Nick is also able to put on half an accent for the show too! “So Alive” meanwhile becomes more of a barn dance! “Davenport” is a bit too short for its own good and just getting over two minutes. It cleverly changes guitars and Ukes throughout but it doesn’t get into its melody fully until the last 50 seconds. “Nothing Is A Mistake” is refreshingly simple as a guitar and vocal track and works perfectly to showcase a live Nick Gallant.
“Mister Moon” finishes off the cuter ballad part of the album before “Little Boy Blue” returns us to the late 80s pop rock sound and “Release Me” gives us a straight up rock track and gets the blood pumping in one of the few moments where we go full pelt. The album mostly has a wistful, laid back and sentimental feel, right down to the airy production on the vocals. “I Long For You” and the instrumental “The End” showcase that even more as the 18 track album closes with its own credit roll.
Nick Gallant has talent. This album is going to appeal to those whom enjoy one man and his guitar most because although there’s other instruments about, nothing else gets close to getting the limelight. The album starts off very summery and closes on a more cosy note but all times its positive and there’s room for a happy and reflective album in everyone’s collection.