Breaking the Mold | Posted September 12, 2011
Occasionally a musician comes on the scene equipped to completely defy expectations. Cory Lamb definitely fits that description. The talented Arkansas-based artist left a promising music career in L.A. to return to his home state and grew his sound from the local roots up.
This unusual approach isn’t the only thing that marks Cory Lamb as unique. His music channels some of the classic ‘80s and ‘90s rock he grew up listening to, combining driving, edgy beats and incredibly tight guitar work with some contemporary polish.
His debut project jumpstarts with the anthemic title track, “Break the Cycle.” This song serves as the battle cry for the rest of the album, pushing back against apathy and the tendency to compromise who we are in order to blend into our environment or circumstances. The driving energy carries on with the track “It’s A Good Day,” a feel-good, sing-along rock track worthy of Bon Jovi tradition. “Drowning” continues with a layered musical backdrop supporting lyrics about wanting to wake up and start again after disillusionment in a “fairytale” relationship.
Despite his skill with creating memorable beats, Cory Lamb isn’t afraid to show a softer side. “Storm” is perhaps the best example of this, an incredibly gentle and heartfelt song with a chorus framed as a prayer from a girl facing an unplanned pregnancy. This song displays incredibly powerful vocals and chilling piano that perfectly follows the poignant narrative of the lyrics as it looks towards the Calmer of the Storm.
As a whole the album displays some very strong songwriting, reaching a peak in middle of the record with “Circle.” The mellow track carefully crafts lyrics that capture contrasts: “I taste it like sour and sweet, like green comes from yellow and blue.” The song is permeated with a heartfelt ache and sense of loss, musically restrained and lyrically poetic.
Other strong tracks include “Praying For Gravity” and “Tell Me That It's Over,” both upbeat, energetic tracks with an underlying edge. The album ends on a lighthearted note with the nostalgic “Superman,” which expresses a desire to fight past disappointment and be “back in the days when I was superman.”
Closing Thoughts:
“Break the Cycle” is a courageous contemporary rock album, both musically and thematically. Cory Lamb addresses many elements of everyday human experience, from heartbreak to memory to identity. Each of these topics is tackled with honesty and an underlying tone of refreshing optimism. Lamb isn't afraid to display where this optimism comes from. The song “Light” confidently declares: “What haunts you now, what keeps you down, will all be lifted. Hold on and you'll see— there is a Light.” The album backs lyrics grounded in hope with beats infused with a contagious energy. The guitar work combines some of the best elements of the past three decades of rock and roll. We can only hope that this strong album is only the beginning of what he will accomplish.
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