Released By : Self Released
Genre : Pop Rock
Links : http://www.myspace.com/tedhovis
Tracklist:
1. Let It Shine
2. Pocketful
3. Thinking Out Loud
4. Twisting In Denial
5. Fly So High
6. Until It Fades
7. The Place You Called Home
8. Foolish Pride
9. The Well Has Run Dry
I do a lot of reviews of metal albums of all genres and a fair bit of hard rock stuff too, which is great fun. But that is only one side of my musical taste and it’s nice to every now and then have something to review that caters to my other musical side. The last few days I have been enjoying the new album from pop-rocker Ted Hovis and it’s been a nice break from the norm.
Ted Hovis is a Washington DC based singer/songwriter who draws influence from many spectrums in the world of popular rock music and writes in a style that is custom made for radio airplay and movie soundtracks. On the album you will hear influences from a range of artists as broad as Matchbox Twenty, Jeff Buckley, Kings Of Leon, U2 and many more. Each song sounds a little different from the one before it which keeps the album interesting, but there is still a distinct style running throughout the album that should help Ted stand out a little from the pack.
Ted’s vocals are very high quality and he must be a dream to work with for a producer as his natural ability shines through, the only slight down side to this is that over the journey of the whole album in can become a little too nice and there isn’t really many distinct vocal moments with the wow factor. But as I said, listening to this album as individual tracks shows at least three or four potential radio hits and in these the vocals are totally perfect. As wide as the influences are on the album, to my ears it was the U2 influence that comes out strongest with the title track LET IT SHINE and also TWISTING IN DENIAL, which coincidentally are my two favorite songs on the disc.
In the times we live in where a lot of popular music is centered more around ego, image and coolness, it’s nice to hear music written and played by a down to earth normal guy that doesn’t have any gimmicks other than his ability to craft catchy, U2 inspired pop-rock tunes and a smooth voice. LET IT SHINE is very recommended for fans of U2, Matchbox Twenty and any catchy pop-rock bands in general.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 8/10
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