CD Review of The Album by Ronnie Day

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Buy your copy from Amazon.com Ronnie Day:
The Album
starstarstarstarno star Label: The Militia Group
Released: 2006
Buy from Amazon.com

If ever an artist has risen up out of nowhere, Bay area singer and songwriter Ronnie Day has done that and probably won’t stop until everyone in the world knows his name. It’s not just that his music is electrifying; it’s that, at 18 years of age, he understands that it’s best to avoid the money major labels throw at you if it means staying true to that music. He’s done that by graduating high school at 16 and touring the country playing music in a car he borrowed from his mom, and then using the Internet to create a buzz that could power a large city.

Day isn’t your typical sensitive guy-with-guitar. He comes more from the young punk school of today…you know, the whiny stuff we’re all so tired of. But somehow he’s used a breakup with a girlfriend of three years to spark a writing spree that spawned his second album, The Album, and his songs are catchy, ballsy and darn near as witty as something Butch Walker would put out. Produced by American Hi-Fi’s Stacy Jones, there are moments when you feel like you’re hearing the soundtrack to a cheesy teen movie, but there are also moments when you know you’re on to something – like you’re witnessing the start of something big.

“Half Moon Bay” kicks off The Album, and it easily measures up to anything put out by the All American Rejects or Something Corporate. But it’s when Day reflects on the pain of his breakup that he delivers some really potent hooks and lyrics. “Written at a Rest Stop” is the kind of breakup song where you can actually feel your heart being ripped out and stomped on. But the inspiration not only affected Day lyrically, it affected his ability to write soaring hooks, and this song has the biggest chorus on the record. By the time you get to “Coming Home Soon” and “Lived Learned Loved & Lost,” you’re like, “Okay, dude – enough, you can get over her now.” But you also have to wonder if the songs would be here if this chick didn’t leave him. “My Only Friend” is another really strong track and paints a vivid picture: “There’s a guy outside your window / With a cracked guitar and a broken heart/I don’t think you hear him though.” Look, we’ve all been there, but Day somehow has the ability to bring all of our lives’ breakups to the surface with his delivery. Finally, “Call My Name” shows a glimpse that the dude is, in fact, getting over her.

It’s safe to say Ronnie Day will move on and find some other chick to break his heart, thus producing more great music. Hell, I’d hate to think what would happen if he finds true happiness. But meanwhile, we can all sit back and enjoy a solid effort from a budding young star, one that sums up life’s beauty and agony all at once.

~Mike Farley