Utah songwriter and devout creative Richard Tyler Epperson forever leads with an original sense of structure and production that’s unlimited by genre or expectation. His latest work, the full-length album Fragmented Night, is a colourful and impressive testament to that consistency and talent, and it delivers an engaging fusion of familiarity and outright unexpected design.
December Night is a huge opening track, a fierce rock soundscape with dreamy, distant vocals, a strong hook and lyrical vulnerability, followed by a vocal and structural shift that brings in a kind of Twenty One Pilots vibe – the creativity, the riffs, the rap, the stark contrast between softness and power.
Versatility runs throughout each creative track – a lasting trait of all things Richard Tyler Epperson – but it also runs unignorably throughout the arrangement of these ten songs. I Love It When It’s Cold is equally as introspective as the opener, but the style is something like mellow indie pop with a touch of summer reggae. Even the production feels extensively different – another calling card of an artist at the helm; the writing and detail, the vocal diversity, the connection between music and intention.
We get something like a Robbie Williams ballad evolving into a soaring rock solo and jam for On Your Side, before the sheer joyful escapism of Let’s Drive offers an infectious bounce of a boldly optimistic switch. Then to shake things up further still, All My Life masters contrast once again, with breathy, whispered vocals countered by explosive rock distortion and rising energy.
The musicianship here is superb, the delicate fingerstyle and the heavier power chords, the production layering, the pre-chorus build, the vocal nuance from one moment to the next. Then for Like Everything Else, the sudden warmth of this two-chord synth progression redirects things towards dream-pop, dark funk, and, ultimately, pop rock, as we’re promised another huge chorus.
Richard Tyler Epperson’s ideas are unfiltered and honest, poetic and genuine – often juxtaposing the uplift and comfort of the music supporting them. That’s a key quality of the artistic reach of this album. However, in addition, we occasionally get the perfect meeting of musical and lyrical positivity, and Where You Are makes for a hopeful and catchy example.
After this, a sultry keys-led moment of intimacy and reverb-soaked jazz-soul emerges in the form of the softly distinct She Don’t Care. The chords rises quickly again, the hi-hats set a fresh and stylish mood, and the songwriting follows its own unique sense of melody and originality.
Towards the finish line, short bars of poetic and personal contemplation elevate the shoulder-swaying mellow warmth of Hold You In My Arms – another quirky structure and set-up blending the familiar with the cleverly unpredictable. This quality too, a key aspect of what sets Richard Tyler Epperson’s music apart. There’s a playful freedom to the arrangement of each song, and that alone lets these songs and stories feel like small theatrical odes.
Dream is the curtain call, a nostalgic pop-rock single that rightfully brings the collection of Fragmented Night to a relevant and purposeful finish. The song is modest, easy-going, calming and catchy, and wraps up the new album in a way that’s seamless and enjoyable.
While this project offers some huge instances of weight and passionate crescendo, it’s also largely a smooth and well-captured go-to for soothing the mood and feeling a sense of both calm and connection. As ever, Epperson brings both professionalism and creative originality to the stage, and Fragmented Night is a beautifully interesting journey, reflective of both of those strengths.
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