Martin Lucassen’s songwriting and musical presentation reach superb new heights on this latest album. For more than few a reasons – On My Way is quite possibly his best collection to date.
Nobody Knows Me starts things up, a brilliant song that reflects the emotions and sentiments of the writing by means of some wonderful musical craftsmanship. Moving from raw delicacy to soft-rock warmth and weight, the song hits with impact and holds tight to your affection throughout. Lucassen presents a sense of vulnerability, an honest, endearing quality that reaches out to connect with the listener’s own struggles within the world.
Human Revolution comes in second and is a fascinating song that details what the title implies in a poetic, short-line manner – almost listing the changes of time. Musically Lucassen offers yet another refreshing melody – his songs always give a sense of newness in that regard. The guitar solo too adds something more to an already immersive ambiance – the crisp finish on this project really tops it off well.
Arrangement-wise, Why Today stands tall for its piano-led delicacy and space. The personal touch works well here, Lucassen brings himself into the journey again, so you get to connect with the artist and ponder the world and your choices within it as he does.
Live For Tomorrow follows and it’s about this time you start to really realise this is indeed Lucassen’s strongest project to date. The writing is the best of the best, the sound is of a supremely high quality, the musicality, the set-up, the leading voice, the use of melody, the artistry of the whole journey, the reflective nature of the ideas – the entire playlist is a total joy to listen through.
Live for Tomorrow feels like an indie-rock anthem – the sound is full and warm, the concept is relevant and inspires positive thinking and more of that essential togetherness. Afterwards, Keep Running Away offers acoustic delicacy and simple harmonies among a personal song of truth, with a calming melody and performance. The song feels like it was written for the listener, which is a wonderful quality to possess within your music. ‘You can do it, remember – we love you’ is a striking line and reinforces everything else about the song.
Yearn for the Past doesn’t grab you as much at first as it does later on when the chorus appears. After this point, the song is incredibly important and connects in a powerful way. There’s passion and longing to it, as well as a full musical warmth that increases the inherent emotion in a big way. Brotherhood follows and brings a folk-rock shuffle and a set-up that’s a pleasure to have fill the room. The story inspires good times and togetherness – the organic groove of the ambiance works perfectly alongside of that.
In among the high energy and weight of the rock and roll elements elsewhere, Passion and Attraction stands out for its space and personal truth. Lucassen lets his voice deliver with passion, as suggested by the title, so the song appeals for the level of emotion, intimacy and realness that it presents.
A lovely bit of acoustic guitar playing lays out a country rock foundation for Happy Dancing. It’s a good vibes song that works well from a musical perspective, and the concept easily appeals. On my Way follows and the creative value of this song makes it an interesting one to include. The opening vocal harmonies and the subsequent distortion and story-line all work well in holding tight to your attention.
At the end of the journey, Painted Nails makes for an immediately heart-breaking song that holds nothing back in terms of the story-line and the melodic emotional connection to it. The story feels so different to the title and the hook’s concept, giving the song a lot of artistic value – it’s not an obvious representation, it’s pure and deals with distraction and disconnection in a powerful way. Another definite highlight and a beautiful way to finish what is a rather magnificent album from Martin Lucassen. A realness and pleasure to have on repeat throughout the day.
Download the album via CDBaby, stream it on YouTube, or visit Martin Lucassen’s Website. Find & follow him on Facebook & Twitter.
