Categories : Folk + Roots, Music Reviews.
 |
Rating: 3/5 Released: February 13, 2007 Reviewer: Trent Depue |
On his major label debut Melodrama, Joel Kroeker first introduced his voice to the masses. Shortly thereafter he lent his voice on Randy Bachman’s cover of Johnny Cash’s ‘I Walk the Line’ and all but stole the show. Now on his follow up Closer to the Flame, it still remains the strongest point of his presentation. Backed up by a mostly upbeat fusion of pop, rock, folk and gospel elements, Kroeker is able to create a distinctive sound he can call his own.
With a title like Closer to the Flame, it is not hard to imagine what kind of imagery Kroeker uses in his lyrics. “home fire,” “fire’s flames,” “heart flame,” “the fire burns,†are just a few in a myriad of such references that do become overly repetitive as the album progresses and is its only real shortcoming. Putting that aside though, there isn’t much to dislike. The fun and up tempo ‘Against Myself’ and ‘Closer to the Flame’ set a quick pace early, while the much slower ‘Sacred Heart’ sees Kroeker at his most passionate. One of the album’s greatest triumphs is its bonus track, the bilingual duet, ‘Déjà Vu.’ Joining forces with Montreal’s Dany Bedar, they sing about unity despite geographical separation and cultural differences. And though the subject matter may be somewhat predictable, it is a beautiful vocal presentation by both parties and ends the album on one of its strongest note.
Buy Closer to the Flame from iTunes >> 
Rate this Review --
(No Ratings Yet)
