As “December Night” kicks off Fragmented Night, you realize that Richard Tyler Epperson understands the difference between big and loud and knows that anthemic doesn’t mean volume. In fact, it is a song with real dynamics, moving through many sonic moods, from understated lulls to burning crescendos, as it shapes its own musical landscape. Finally, someone gets it.
And, as the next track, “I Love It When It’s Cold,” neatly proves, he is also well aware that the rock sound should not be something stuck in the past. Here, in contrast to the previous song, he blends cutting-edge pop vibes, perhaps even neo-soul sentiments, pulling the center out of its well-established comfort zones and into the future.
The current single, “Let’s Drive,” is fun, upbeat, and escapist, the chorus running on some unexpectedly country-funk grooves, “Like Everything Else” is indie-pop with everything turned up to eleven balanced by a great use of space, and “Dream” blends liquid pop with dance-infused rock to play us out.
The label rock has always been so broad and vague that it doesn’t tell us much, especially when you get out into the fringes of the genre, the place where its sonic waves meet stranger musical tides from neighboring sounds and styles. But it is better than nothing. We find Richard Tyler Epperson swimming and diving for pearls in these waters. And seeing them in abundance.
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