- Date
- Thursday, August 28, 2008
- Author
- Corey Dutson
Roark - Break Of Day
- Category
- Music Reviews
- Tags
- alternative, Break Of Day, music, Music Reviews, Roark
Break Of Day is one of those albums that every time I come across it I don’t realize who the artist is, but I always think the songs sound fantastic. Then I’ll check my iTunes and realize that once again, it’s a song from Break Of Day. Then I say to myself “I really have to review this album! It’s so good!”
Then another month passes, and no review has been written, at least not by my own hands. Well I’m changing that today, because I ended up listening to the entire album from start to finish and I am not totally in love with this album.
Track Listing:
- Never Felt So Lucky **
- Into Pieces **
- Movin’ On **
- Today (Perfect) **
- Letters
- Brighter Side
- Broken Smile **
- Song From The TV
- All Of The Riches
- Ask Myself **
- Take It Slow **
**Clear Favorites
How can I describe this album? I guess it’s Indie, but not really. It really has a bluegrass/pop/alternative blend that really defies clear classification. Brian O’Neal (way to hard to find his real name, Jesus), who goes by Roark, does a fantastic job of delivering heart-felt song after heart-felt song. Each track sounds like he means every word, which is a rare treat in this day and age. Though he is technically a solo artist, Brian does have someone helping him in the studio for these songs. All the songs on the album tend to offer up some sort of combination of guitar, piano, and drums (with extras thrown in where needed) and it helps give a unified feel to the whole CD.
Most of Break Of Day offers up what I can only describe as a “hopeful vibe”. Listening to this CD makes me happy inside for reasons I cannot accurately articulate. The light sound and use of the guitar and piano really help deal some of the uplifting mood, but Brians voice itself seems to embody something that completes it all. The music and his voice mesh so well together that it’s nothing short of impressive. He knows how to write music to match him both on a mental and a physical level.
My clear favorite from this CD is easily ‘Broken Smile’ which is, admittedly, a rather depressing song. It talks about a girl whos obviously been hurt deeply. We don’t know the whats or whys. All that is given is the fact that people want to help, but she can’t bring herself to ask for help. It’s nearly 6 minutes long, and I love every second of it. The music itself isn’t complex, but it feels totally honest and you can’t help but feel for the girl. It’s an amazing track, and sealed the deal for me.
My only real complaint with the album is that most of the tracks sound very similar, so if you aren’t in love with the album, you’ll start getting annoyed after about 3 tracks. Other than that I can’t really find anything wrong with Break Of Day.
If you’re in the mood for something soothing and uplifting, Break Of Day is totally worth listening to.
7.5/10
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