Written by Tom Bedding
Tom Grennan rose to fame in the U.K. with some big tunes, that rightly so, soundtracked a lot of peoples 2017/18. However the whole package was not overly impressive, yet you could feel that this artist could have a few singles under his belt for years to come. So with an album that is deemed more authentic, we are indeed given those catchy singles like before but ‘Evening Road’ is an incredible mixed bag.
The opening song to Grennan’s second album is a standout! ‘If Only’ is slowly dramatic with a great sounding choir in the background. It does set a standard that really doesn’t represent the entire LP, however you can still enjoy this song as it really has a strong and independent message to it.
Then the standout single called ‘Something Better’ really shows off how the artist does have purpose and an essence of being a fresh, sounding artist. The production is top notch, with Tom’s vocal delivery really bringing a lot of character and boldness to the song. Lyrically, it focuses on those defining moments where you truly look at yourself in the mirror, realising what you are becoming and wanting to make yourself a better person.
Is it that much of a surprise that we would see male artists following what Lewis Capaldi managed to succeed with the other year, nope! Grennan really has a melody and song structure that the Scotsman would've of been in his back pocket for one of those annoying deluxe editions of his commercially successful, debut album. Sadly it really does not make its own interpretation of this mid-tempo, souring, love song and it just becomes a tad stale by the time the chorus comes around again and again.
‘Amen’ has good intentions, with a stripped back beginning and then literally an ‘aMen!’ chorus. The sentiment is there, which this album has in a plenty, though it just does not really impress you with a sense of individuality. ‘It Hurts’ is a piano led song which tackles the battle the artist had, with all the rumours that came about during his debut album, as you can tell from this song…it hurt. The chord progression has promise, with the mixing of the piano standing out but the end result does not match the promise it showed.
The guitars in this mix on ‘Never Be a Right Time’ are annoyingly underused and this push to be a single, feels like a messy attempt of doing a Ryan Tedder special. You wish Grennan would sit down with his people, look at the music itself and make it his own, make the music do the talking!
Another single comes next in ‘This Is The Place’, featuring a really infectious prechorus! The guitars and the singers vocals are infectious, while the odd groove of the bass really working well after the chorus. As stated earlier, here we have an artist that has a single or two in him, it really does ensure this album does not fall on its feet.
We enter a moodier angle of Tom Grennan on ‘Sweeter Then’, with the lyrics hitting on generic topics of a man needing to do better. It is hard not to deny that the vocals by Tom is engaging, so with more interesting touches like this song, you can really get on board with what he is doing at times. However this little resurgence of the record disappears for a bunch of tracks, falling into a safe space of dull piano ballads. ‘Make My Mind Up’, ‘You Matter To Me’ and ‘I Don’t Need A Reason fill incredibly uninspiring and waste of energy, just because its about a breakup….does…not…mean…its good.
Luckily, in-between those missteps we have ‘Oh Please’, which really feels like it was well crafted to nail its intentions. Those intentions may not be the most classical of objectives, for example Tik Tok but this song is decent! Despite the last track, ‘Love Has Different Ways To Say Goodbye’ being shorter than the songs name, it is a nice closer to an album that will please many but overall will not impress many.
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