Cover Your Eyes has a very timeless sound to its opening, with a bit of 1970s easy listening baked into the guitars. Forier’s vocals are emotive, passionate, and establish a closeness with listeners that few voices can achieve. The dynamic between the guitars and vocals are solid enough during the single’s first minute, but the later inclusions (synths and bass) provide an allure that is hard to deny. Cover Your Eyes is made all the stronger by James’s ability to drastically change the tenor and overall styles presented during the composition. While the song is seated in an earlier musical tradition, there is a current, contemporary sound that will gain the attention of anyone that may be listening in.
I’ve been here before pulls from a different musical corpus than Cover Your Eyes. During the opening to the song, there is a bit of Dave Matthews and Rusted Root that can be discerned. It is the front-forward sound of the voice that is a commonality between the two tracks; Forier’s dulcet tones are the glue that are able to marry together wholly distinct statements. The guitar work is given ample spotlighting during I’ve been here before. The back and forth between these two elements brings them up into an entirely higher plateau.
Madison is a fun late-nineties alt rock styled track. Fuzzy guitars and thoughtful vocals pass the baton between one another throughout the song’s duration. The guitar arrangements during Madison are contemplative and richly emotive. The net effect of these riffs are to add a secondary narrative to the composition. James Forier is able to put his own indelible imprint upon rock with these singles, whetting listeners appetites and preparing them for future music to come down the pipeline. Check out his Facebook for additional information about the performer.
James Forier – Singles / 2020 Self Released / Facebook /