Album Review: Logan Spaleta’s Debut EP, “without a care in the world”

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Released on June 14^th, pop artist Logan Spaleta’s debut, without a care in the world, serves to mold the musician’s foundation as a songwriter. Combining popular elements of what this listener would define as pop (along with subtle influences of soft rock, musical theater, and folk), the young composer is quickly developing his style of sound and craft.

The intro track, “will i be free?,” begins with drumstick clicks, shortly followed by full-band instrumentation. As is the case with the genre as a majority – this album is no surely no exception – the vocals are out in front of the mix. The synthesizer blends with some overdriven guitars in a manner that complements each other’s tonalities. Another common arrangement technique is soon employed: the energy level is brought down after the second chorus during the bridge before building back up to the final chorus. There’s a reason it’s so ubiquitous: it’s effective and works well. Finally, the modulation during the last section of the song adds one more brief lift to the piece’s energy before an abrupt conclusion.

During “glory daze,” the following track, a staccato keyboard part is initially heard. As the music builds, it serves as a bedrock for a vocal that sounds slightly distorted. While there’s some pretty common vocal processing going on, as is appropriate with the genre, there’s a definite note of musical theater on this track. This particular quality – in the views of this listener – makes the piece stand out a bit more. While the subtle harmonies during the bridge are expected, it would’ve been remiss to exclude them. The synth melody following each chorus section really helps drive the arrangement forward.

Showing slightly different instrumentation in the third track, “next year,” the piece begins with a nicely performed acoustic guitar part. At first, it is just voice and guitar, before full-band instrumentation – including more synth – joins into the fray. The lyrical content, while nothing overtly new or groundbreaking, demonstrate on one hand a depth of character that is unexpected for a songwriter as young as Logan, while on the other hand still captures the innocence of age. In this song, the narrator is resigned to waiting for a love connection in order to learn more about who he is as a person.

For the final song, “dreamin,” keyboards and vocals serve as the intro, soon followed by bass and drums. After the first chorus, even further instrumentation is added. One of my personal favorite aspects of this album’s instrumentation is found in the drums. This song is no exception: they are extremely punchy on this track.

Upon listening to Spaleta’s latest EP, without a care in the world, listeners are greeted to a short collection of tunes that demonstrates the artist’s ability to arrange music. Though there’s nothing particularly daring within these songs, each one is crafted in a way that nothing stands out in an offensive manner, and the tracks tend to move at a fast clip, as the album seems to be over before one knows it. In this sense, those listening stand a good chance to be left wanting more. Spaleta really seems to be developing his songwriting abilities each time I hear him, and I look forward to hearing more from this young artist.