Lately, there’s been a major increase in conceptualism among rock, pop, and folk artists, but this isn’t stopping Corey Stapleton from giving us the cut and dry crossover record we deserve in his debut album Sea Change. Recorded with the help of his band The Pretty Pirates, Sea Change gives us a well-rounded look at who Corey Stapleton is as a lyricist, a collaborator, and an artist who takes influence from across the spectrum, most importantly Americana. He doesn’t act overambitious here, but this singer/songwriter definitely has a handle on what he wants to be known for.
URL: https://coreystapleton.com/
The lusty rhythm behind the title track, “As the Crow Flies,” and “My First Rodeo. Not.” would be more than enough to get me to stick around for the lyrical pleasures that follow, but there’s as much to be said about the melodic elements of these songs as there is anything in their beats. Stapleton is a good singer, and he isn’t just using his words to clarify the mood of the music – they’re an extension of the percussion, whether drums are present or not, and I like the way they shape the depth of the compositions here without making him sound overbearing in the mix.
Stapleton sways with the melody of the music brilliantly in “Mosaic” and “The Coin” especially, to such an extent where I wouldn’t have known this was his first album had I not been informed as much ahead of time. Sea Change has many attributes that some could mistakenly credit to a lifetime of experience on the stage and in the recording studio, but this is another area where this player exceeds expectations. His confidence is a big part of the chemistry here, but it’s his natural abilities that earn him the greater portion of my respect.
Lyrics aren’t always the centerpiece here; in fact, “The Darkest Point” and “Western Son” make their harmonies more of a central point of expression, the former of which is doing a lot better than the latter. “Western Son” strikes me as a strange choice for a single next to some of the other songs here, but if showcasing the variety of styles he can tackle was what Stapleton was trying to accomplish with this addition to the tracklist, I can’t argue with his reasoning. He’s got time to improve, but all things considered, he’s doing fairly well with what he has in Sea Change.
This album is good listening and an even better intro to the man and musician Corey Stapleton is, but I don’t think it’s going to present us with the long-term sound he’s going to bring with him to the studio. He’s still obviously an artist searching for an identity, for a sense of self, otherwise there wouldn’t be as many scattered compositional moments here as there are. That said, however, Corey Stapleton’s matchup with The Pretty Pirates is one that needs to remain intact, as I think these players can draw a lot more out of each other than they could on their own.
Jodi Marxbury