As the opening track of Chris St. John’s latest album, Never Where I Am, “A Flower Blooms” speaks volumes. The songs’ deft and creative collision of accessible rock and astute Americana, its dynamic ebbs and flows, and its warmth are precisely what you need to open an album; it sets out the stall perfectly and tells us that here, we have a songwriter of no small talent.
It’s a love song built on clever metaphors, reminding us that life, and indeed love, is all about balance—the sun and the rain, the dark and the light, the tough times and the good—and that all such things come together to allow long-dormant seeds to blossom into something extraordinary.
Such balances are also found throughout the music that delivers such a message; rock energy is tempered by more pop, or at least pop-aware, melodies, the pace is matched by poise, and the groove is complemented by something altogether more graceful. The result is a song that is infectious and accessible, but more than that, it is lyrically poetic and sonically rewarding, and a clever reminder of the ups and downs of life and love.
Few people are going to give this a spin and not immediately want to know more about Chris St. John, not immediately want to delve into his back catalog, not immediately want to put Never Where I Am on their musical shopping list.
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