Family Average: 4/7

Come one, come all we’ve got a new review of a new tune. Today’s review is of Heath Church, a singer/songwriter who hails from the land they call Kansas City, Missouri. A lot of great, soulful music has come out of that zone, as well as some tasty folk sounds. Will Heath live up to the Kansas City vibe? More importantly, will the family like it? As of late the gang seems to react well to singer/songwriters so maybe. Then again, who knows with these kids; they’re are all over the place.

Listen to his latest single, “Breaking Even”, on Spotify and read on to find out:

Oh yeah son, slap them guitar strings! This song makes me want to put my head on somebody's lap. Obviously the lap of somebody I know, I’m not a weirdo. Anyway gosh does this thing try its darnedest to make me sad. Luckily for me I have the resolve of a Terikata Soldier even though I’m not even sure what that means (Editor’s note: it’s Terracotta Soldier, from the stone army in ancient china. So in other words, pretty resolved).

Despite his efforts to make me sad, Heath (Take Me To) Church seems like a real cool guy. He has a refined sound, and a voice that would be comfortable on the radio. Also he really knows how to accent a song; the strings swelling throughout the entire ending culminating in silence brought me to a good place. Thanks again.

4/7

Growing up, I remember sitting shotgun to my mother’s stop-and-go driving while turning the knob to different soft rock stations. Why soft rock? Because my mother was in the car and the last thing she wanted to hear was Kurt Cobain’s incoherent yelling, or being cussed to by a rapper that wore more jewelry than her. So we compromised, and I didn’t really mind. It turned out I actually enjoyed a lot of it and I now have a collection of guilty pleasure, mom rock ballads embedded in my brain eternally.

‘Breaking Even’ would be the type of song that would come up while spinning the dial. And then that’s about it. The next time it came on the radio I would’ve skipped it. There is just nothing memorable about this song. The lyrics aren’t catchy or particularly meaningful. There is generic guitar strumming throughout, and then out of nowhere, pointless violin playing comes in. Maybe the intention was to purposefully drown out his voice, which is also generic. Or maybe he felt like it needed more. But I’m not sure that’s exactly what was needed. I will say that the song is well produced. But other than that, it was just a very forgettable song.

2/7

Anyone who has read my reviews would know I am not a fan of folk. I tend to get bored with the repetitive chorus and find my self screaming, "enough already!!". But leaving my opinion concerning this genre aside, I tried to focus on the song and the artist here. The composition of the song was well thought out and you could tell a labor of love. The depth of this artists work and feeling towards his craft is definitely worth noting. The production was perfect for the song. Never over done, with maybe the exception of the orchestral interlude at the end. Over all a nice job.

4/7

I immediately thought this track was suited for the end credits of a Disney Pixar film. It’s got that whole heart-warming, happy-go-lucky, family-friendly vibe down pat. Not necessarily a criticism, but just too bland for my liking.

Heath Church has a very sweet voice, but the lyrics felt limited and sort of empty. The song developed a bit more weight when the strings section came in, filling it out with a more expansive sound than just the plucking guitar and melodic vocals.

There are definitely some nice moments, and the quality of production is great, but it is basically the equivalent of a Hallmark card or a Lifetime original movie —canned emotion with a predictable arch.

3/7

I’m not gonna lie at for the first second I thought I accidentally put on La Mar by The Beautiful Girls. But don’t worry, the rest of the song is its own thing.

It definitely has that folksy, bluesy vibe to it. It’s mild and unobtrusive, could work well as the scoring of a low point of an indie film. It gets a bit to repetitive though, I found myself wondering just how long it was going to go on. That’s why when new instruments finally started to be added, I wondered if I’d opened a new tab of music by mistake. As you get used to them they feel more in place, but I feel like it’d be less jarring of they were incorporated earlier on.

It works as a generic song about love and heartbreak, but nothing too spectacular.

4/7