Monday, August 20, 2018

Crack of Dawn release Spotlight



Crack of Dawn release Spotlight


Crack of Dawn’s new record Spotlight opens with a song titled simply enough, “Crack of Dawn,” a track that immediately jumps right into the same, reliably charming funk that gave this group their infamous start in the 1970s and is keeping them pumping as hard as the heart of a young lover in 2018. “Wake me up at the crack of dawn, we gonna get it on” we’re told, and never have I felt so eager to break into this new day that’s awaiting us in the nine tracks to follow; this is the long overdue trip that fans Crack of Dawn have been waiting to take for some time now, and at as “Somebody’s Watching” starts up, it’s clear that our moment has finally arrived.

“Somebody’s Watching” gets us lit up with some white hot guitar riffing that’s punctuated with a bass that goes for a walk around the vocals and driving drum beat. It’s a great buffer and intro into the equally spellbinding and funky “Booby Ruby,” a boisterous number that evokes Stevie Wonder’s grinding keys and methodical pitch attack. Even with the shifts in the tempo between the first three songs, Spotlight features an ambiance that remains the same throughout its entire play, without getting too monotonous or stuck on a certain theme. Take for example the way we practically catapult from “Booby Ruby” into the thumping, ambitiously agile “Keep the Faith,” a song that I think needs to be a single up for consideration at this year’s Grammy Awards if the judges manage to develop any sort of sense. Unlikely, but we can still dream can’t we?

If there were anyone worth their wits in the American music establishment, a song like “It’s Alright” would already be towering over the charts as we head into the summer season – which has pretty much always been the primetime for sensuous love songs of its high caliber. It’s matched in creativity by “Ol’ Skool,” my favorite song on Spotlight. “Ol’ Skool” is a very autobiographical song for the band, but not once does Crack of Dawn give us the impression that they’re lamenting how much time has gone by. Actually, I think they’re in love with the history they’ve been able to make, and they’re still down to keep the party going into the next generation and beyond. “Seasons Change” keeps up with this theme, and makes for a very welcoming melodic break from all of the strenuous beats we’ve experienced up until this point of the record.

The title track from Spotlight is easily the most relaxed moment of the entire album, dimming the lights and letting the illuminating pipes of our lead singer direct our attentions further towards the opulent and sumptuous. It’s the perfect segue into “Your Love” and it’s all out eroticism that’s planted right into the melodies it so proudly boasts. As the LP draws to a poignant close with the enchanting “Changes,” everyone who has been listening might take away a slightly different interpretation of Crack of Dawn’s intentions with Spotlight, but one thing remains universally agreed upon; their reemergence really is the best thing that could have happened to pop music right now.


Thomas Patton, III

No comments:

Post a Comment