Album Review: Nick Waterhouse Is A Millennial Buddy Holly In Never Twice
Nick Waterhouse brings me back to the fun, fast-paced sounds of Buddy Holly. No, its not because he carries an odd physical semblance to the music icon, but because he has managed to capture the lyrics and guitar arrangements that made the legend so famous. Holly knew how to bring out human depth in an innocent, playful manner. Whether it be a simple crush or a crushing heartbreak, Nick Waterhouse’s Never Twice makes you feel like you are living life in a schoolyard: both youthful and emotional.
Some of the greatest emotional challenges and rises happen in our youth while laughing with friends and confronting bullies in the playground. Thus, Never Twice manages to pull the purity of this childhood time into an essence for life. No matter how much we grow older, something inside us, both spiritually and symbolically, is just that kid in the schoolyard learning how to face life and have faith in him or her self. Hence, Waterhouse has created a playfully masterful third album in Never Twice.
From the first track, “It’s Time”, the Buddy Holly vibes will hit you like lightning. There is a 1950’s, California sun that smiles over this album. You can literally picture Waterhouse driving a Cadillac under palm trees with his ray-bans and slick back tussling in the wind. He carries an “old school” voice, when a music note started in the pit of your soul. For him. music is a narrative in sound. Each track is a tale of the highs and lows of love with a moral edge, a character twist, and a spiritual uplift. Yet, your musical sensation to rise comes from the smokey sense of joy Waterhouse breeds. I love an album with a “time warp” feeling, but add on a magnetic sense of child-like mischief and you have Never Twice.
The perks of having a vintage sound is that you can summon the flashes of heart that often lead people to define the “greatest music’ in a past tense form. Everyone says music’s “glory days” have passed, which si something I cannot believe when I hear Nick Waterhouse. Songs like his duet with Leon Bridges’ “Katchi” or “L.A Turnaround” will make you want to grab a friend and dance by the jukebox at your local diner. The rush of classic happiness makes this album a must for those, like myself, that enjoy dreaming of life in a different era or as a different character.
Nick Waterhouse – “Old Place” (Official Video)//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js
On October 8, Waterhouse will play Never Twice in Music Hall Of Williamsburg. I am highlighting this concert, in particular, it is one of the few upcoming events that will feel like a time machine has been placed in the middle of Brooklyn. How many concerts, artists, or even life opportunities do you have to feel like a kid in the 1950’s? Not many! So go out and see Nick Waterhouse this week. For more information on this artist, to buy Never Twice, or to buy tickets to his concert click Here.
