Album Review: Zander Hawley Sings To “When I Get Blue”
Zander Hawley has a voice that instantly makes you fall in love with him. Rising as a new country voice ready to define the music scene that has defined him, When I Get Blue seems like anything but the 19 year old’s debut. There is a maturity and familiarity to his voice that will fit right into you radio/ life.
Now I can be flooded by excellent talent, but there are always a few that spark an intuitive sense of fame. Hawley is too good to be ignored, and, if there is one thing I know about the country music scene, is that it fiercely loyal when it finds a good artist to connect with. Hawley is like a Millennial cross between Damien Rice with splashes of Matthew Logan Vasquez, which is an excellent combination. Tracks like “How Tonight Will Go” and “Until We Get Bored” have a slow draw like a longly-lit cigarette; they burn with a quiet simmer and a faint light. Both songs and ” At My Age” exude Hawley’s “Rice and Vasquez” vocal capacity to make tracks that seem as if they were written by the bareness of his soul. They are quiet, emotionally raw, and simple because Hawley does not try to “fluff” his lyrics. With an honesty one would save for their diary page, Hawley goes straight for the emotional truths of being pulled, punched, blissed and bored with the trials of being young. From the sadness of people who leave your life like, “We Don’t Talk So Much Anymore” to the exciting potential of meeting someone new in “I Met Someone”, there is an inherent openness to his voice that emanates vulnerability and a surprisingly wide range. Sometimes, emotions can build a talent, of which to Hawley, “the record is about endurance through self-doubt, broken romances, broken people, but also about the enduring nature of the way I feel love.” Could not have put it better myself! This album is simple because it is raw, and pierces listeners with its constant understanding of youth’s highs and lows.
With just a guitar and his heart, Hawley has build a lovelorn road ahead of him that twists and turns in songs ““Every Woman In The World” and “Don’t Call Me Back”. Yet, you want to listen in even if it is to recall your own youth and the dual tensions of living for but dreading your tomorrow. For More Information On Zander Hawley and To Buy When I Get Blue On May 12 Click Here.
