There are certain people who are so good at everything that it makes you want to dislike them. Just a little.
Blake Proehl, for example. He had signed with the Minnesota Vikings before a serious knee injury derailed his football ambitions. Amid what must have been a devastating period, music offered him another way forward. Now he’s making a name for himself in Nashville, and this debut EP suggests he might be rather good at this as well.
Some people, honestly.
The appeal of “If He Ain’t Up” is in the universality of its story. There can’t be many blokes who won’t recognise the business of wanting the woman they can’t have, or many women who have actually realised that the bloke fancies them. Proehl understands how much mileage there is in that situation, and how readily people will find themselves in it.
Not that I’m talking from experience, of course. Nothing like that. No. Absolutely not.
Country pop is all over “Hearts Don’t Break Like That”, with enough rock in the mix to give it a push. And speaking of universal experiences, here’s the breakup song. These are familiar emotions, but that familiarity is part of what makes the songs connect so quickly.
“She Got It” isn’t breaking new ground either, but it’s irresistible, and it absolutely loves its chorus. There’s a confidence to the way it goes about things: Proehl knows where the hook is, and he’s making sure you do too. By the time “Way Back” arrives, we’re dealing with pure pop music. The ease with which he moves into it tells you plenty about where his future might lie.
“Wild Magnolia” returns to the idea that all the good ones get away. There’s a Thomas Rhett feel here, and something rather appealing about the way it almost celebrates the heartache. For a song about losing someone, it sounds remarkably happy to be telling you about it.
If you’ve been waiting for a ballad, then “Always Almost” is your reward. The way it builds recalls an old-school AOR song from the 1980s, giving the EP a different feel at the close and suggesting there’s scope for him to take this sound further.
There’s enough across these six songs to suggest that Blake Proehl could become a big star. Nashville has no shortage of people chasing that same prize, of course, and he’s entering a very crowded field. Still, the choruses, the easy appeal and the ability to make familiar stories feel immediately relatable give him a decent chance.
He’s certainly one to watch.
Rating: 7.5/10
