The Record Company – All Of This Life

Release Date: June 22, 2018

On one hand the new album ‘All Of This Life’ has the unmistakable sound of ‘The Record Company’.  On the other, it feels like a huge leap from their debut album “Give It Back To You’.  That’s not to say that the former is not any good.  Actually, I’m a big fan of the first record.  But start this new album and straight away you get the feeling that something bigger and more sinister is going down.

‘All Of This Life’ is a ten track album that will keep you interested from top to bottom.  And trust me, I have been guilty of loosing concentration every now and again when previewing an album.  That did not happen here.

The first song ‘Life To Fix’ is a perfect opening track.  The song starts with a very cool bass line from bassist Alex Stiff.  The drums played by Marc Cazorla, sound outstanding.  I love the way they are tuned, mic’d and mixed.  The toms cut through the mix properly and that sweet tone does not get lost.  The tambourine will have you scootin’ down the street, “whoa-ing” along to the chorus while listening to this song on full blast.

‘I’m Getting Better (And I’m Feeling It Right Now)’ is the next song.  This one had me taping my foot in rhythm while I was listening to it for the first time.  The terrific harmonica moves along with a fast pace that makes me wish I was a stevedore hangin’ around in a bar on season two of The Wire, or something, drinking and grooving along with it.

Track three, ‘Goodbye To The Hard Life’, gives us Chris Vos’ damn good falsetto.  His is a little different than most, though.  You really get to hear the tone of his voice which can sometimes get lost when going high up in the register.  He does a great job all around vocally on this song.

‘Make It Happen’.  Killer.  My personal favorite song on the record.  Alex and his bass guitar are stellar here.  I love the sound as it carries the verses along with, what sounds like a steel guitar, that slides right over top.  The chorus is so thick, I get that foot stomping, slapping my leg, head bobbing, ugly face appreciation every time I listen to it.

The guys slow it down right in the middle of the album with ‘You And Me Now’.  They have a beautiful sounding acoustic guitar holding this song together to go along with some serious emotional sounding vocals from Chris.

Have I mentioned the drums and the way they sound before?  Lordy, lordy, lordy.  You are in for a treat with track six, ‘Coming Home’.  This song has such a big, heavy sound.  The well placed hand claps and tambo almost get lost but they are a big part of the mix and of the song as a whole.

‘The Movie Song’ is track seven.  This is a nice introspective song that gives you the feel good vibes.  The steel guitar should be noted here as well.  It sits perfectly in the mix and really fills in the gaps where Chris’ voice isn’t.  I hope the world gets a taste of this song at some point.

Several times during my first listen of this album I had a moment of, “no.. this is my favorite song”.  ‘Night Games’ did that to me as well.  The bass line is hypnotic on this one.  The drums are subtle and the acoustic guitar is silky smooth.  Great track.

‘Roll Bones’ is a completely different song than ‘Night Games’ but the same notes almost apply here.  Over-driven bass is mean.  Once the drums come in they are all business.  Finally, the skill on the steel guitar is getting pretty ridiculous at this point.  Just a group of some seriously talented musicians.

The closing track ‘I’m Changing’ stats off with a count in and an acoustic guitar.  My first reaction was that this might be a quick filler song at the end.  I was wrong.  Once the vocals start there is a nice touch on the piano as this song keeps building.  The vocals get stronger and stronger and the song feels very big right until the end.  To be honest, I was blown away with the track and as it ended I was ready to start it over again.  I’ve taken my fair share of road trips and this will be one of those songs that I listen to on repeat as I drive through the night.

The production on ‘All Of This Life’ stands out from a lot of recordings I’ve heard over the last year.  These are highly skilled musicians that have taken their sound to the next level.  Do yourself a favor and pick up the record when it comes out.  You’ll love the way it looks on you.  I guarantee it.

‘All Of This Life’ will be released on June 22, 2018 on Concord Music/Universal Music Group.

9/10