Pete Briley is an integral part of Southern rock tinged multi-instrumentalists The Outlaw Orchestra and has recently released his own solo album `Album # 1`
The album opens with `Elvis` an upbeat tale of somebody who appears popular with the opposite sex which becomes problematic with their respective partners, current and ex. The protagonist equates his charm briefly to how Elvis must have felt. There`s a similar vibe to `Somewhere` which has tinkling keys throughout and tells of seeking a place where the storyteller can feel at home and at last, they seem to have found it.
`Rhonda` has an organ running through it`s heart and is a story where drink is taken which has inevitable consequences. A number that almost has a gospel like feel. There was real depth to `Angels Ain’t Singing My Name` a reflective ballad like number that seems to ruminate on mortality. We have some delightful resonating guitar chords throughout and a haunting piano / organ towards the end.
`Right Place, Wrong Time` at one hundred and nineteen seconds is a brief but uplifting listen with a strummed banjo, tapped percussion and complex guitar riffs. A banjo leads us into `Highflyer` a melodic folk tinged narrative of a successful ambitious person who seems to have undergone a change in direction. There were some captivating trumpet hues from Nebojsa Pavlo on this track.
We have a fairly cheerful number with `Go To Bed` which the singer has shared “This is a song about the many lost nights of a lost soul. I’ve always said, never underestimate the power of one more beer, that one last drink at the end of the night might just make it. I was stoked to be joined by fellow wandering heart, Dane Campbell (of Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons) on drums – who brought the thundering rhythm to this song and helped make it what it is.” A song about being stuck, and about getting unstuck follows with the keyboard led pop tinted `Sick and Tired` a fairly dreamy composition.
`Easy` is a quite introspective and thoughtful submission that reflects on not knowing what you want in life and finding somebody who has a similar outlook and is willing to take a chance on you. There are some banjo chords that add a further intensive poignancy to this piece. The album closes out with `Clouds` another absorbing fairly distracted creation with what sounded like a pedal steel accompaniment.
`Album # 1` for me was a well spent thirty odd minutes akin to shooting the breeze with an old mate, whom you haven`t seen for a while. The tracks had a delightful melodic tone and lyrics that were really reflective at times throughout. Overall, for me and i`m sure on listening, you`ll agree, that this release was delightfully appealing.
Rating 8.5 /10
