Owsley - The Hard Way (2003, Lakeview)
There's only one reason I started listening to Will Owsley two years ago: the cover of his debut album. It's a photo of a guitarist jumping insanely high in front of a bland wallpaper pattern. If he's jumping that high, I thought, he must rock out pretty hardcore. So I listened and instantly fell in love with songs like Oh No The Radio and Class Clown (If you read this site regularly, you probably get sick of how many times I mention that I'm listening to Owsley). The first album was the very definition of a pop gem - catchy hooks, solid structure, and a feeling of raw excitement captured in the album cover. Critics loved it. It got a Grammy nomination for best engineering, because Owsley did most of it himself. The music from I'm Alright was used in a Nautica ad. It remains one of my all-time favorite albums and will never leave the CD tray in my car.
The Hard Way, Owsley's sophomore effort, is the logical progression from the first album. Bottom line - it's not as "fun" as the self-titled debut (and really, how could it be?), but it rocks in its own right and displays more maturity and even better crafted songs. He is a true musician's definition of rock star; the little guy that could. The guy who stopped fighting with the major label (Warner) to leave for the smaller one (Lakeview) so that he could make the music he wanted to.
Owsley knows how to make catchy, radio-friendly melodies that rock; he has it down to a science. There's nothing here you haven't heard before - electric guitars exploding through the choruses, distorted background vocals, and drum machines and keyboards sprinkled around the edges. But that Grammy nod proved that Owsley knew his way around the studio, meaning that he had complete control over how his music turned out from concept to execution. This album is louder and more aggressive than the first - more power, less pop. It doesn't pretend to be any deeper than what it is: catchy music to sing along to, best played with the windows down and the volume up. It's just good old-school rock music without the techno bells and hip hop whistles.
When I say Owsley's music is commercial, I mean it's a mix that satisfies both the artsy/indie people and the casual listener. Indie fans will enjoy the deceptive simplicity and solid song structure. They'll like the hidden cover of McCartney's Band on the Run and the transitions between tracks. The casual listener will be pulled in instantly by the hooks, find several "single"-esque songs, and add plenty of tracks to their next road trip mix CD. They'll enjoy knowing that Owsley used to be in a band with Ben Folds, and will probably hear some similarities.
The Hard Way has a few shortcomings. My biggest complaint lies within the song titles - She's The One, Dude, Undone - we've heard these all before. Even the lyrics are sometimes fairly predictable (stuff like "into the light / never has it ever felt so right"). But then again, the focus is on melody, so he could sing about organizing his sock drawer and it would still sound good. With only 10 tracks, there are a few okay songs - Rainy Day People isn't my personal favorite - but the rest more than make up for them. This is true pop/rock in the best sense, and I find it hard to believe that fans of the genre won't absolutely love this album. The intense focus on melody and structure can't be denied; you'll hear the wide variety of influences, from the Beatles to the Cars. You might miss the fun of the first album in favor of the maturity of the second, but there's no denying it - Owsley rocks.
Thanks to Lakeview Entertainment for sending us a promotional copy of the album to review. They've also been kind enough to offer me a chance to interview Will if he comes by Atlanta in the near future, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Sunday, January 18 at 7:31 AM
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