BRENT JAMES & The Contraband – Moment Of Silence (2011)
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This is a new artist for me and I guess for most of you. His name is BRENT JAMES and with his Michigan based band The Contraband, has released a couple of months ago an interesting album called “Moment Of Silence”.
Brent James and the Contraband are most certainly going places. Such a surefire statement is most probably hyperbolic, but consider the following three facts.
For starters, James possesses ‘that’ kind of classic American voices somewhere between Bob Seger, John Mellencamp, Mitch Malloy and Mark Spiro that fits perfectly his music style: polished rockin’ road trip tunes in the vein of Better Than Ezra mixed with the more ‘cowboy-esque’ Bon Jovi.
Secondly, the group’s debut full-length album was produced by the ever-consistent Grammy-winning producer Brad ‘Skidd’ Mills, who also contributes playing and arranging.
And third and perhaps most important is that James’ possesses a confidence and swagger that would make most headliners shiver in their skin. Exuding attitude, charisma and energy, James seems destined for larger stages.
The band has performed with Alice Cooper, Kenny Wayne Shepard, and recently, with legend Ted Nugent.
“He’s a rocking young kid,” Nugent said of James. “Our manager spotted him and since I don’t get around to see other acts much between tours, I took his word for it when he said we should get Brent on the tour.
“He was right. Brent is a great performer and he really impressed me with the Detroit thing he has going on. You can feel that energy, the drive on his music.”
While “Moment Of Silence” does have a few moments of filler, there are a host of radio-ready juggernauts primed for terrestrial radio, movie soundtracks and VH1. Foremost of those juggernauts is album opener and title track “Moment of Silence”, which has everything it takes to top the charts: polish, professionalism and hook smarts.
Equally potent is the punchy “Young Love”, the anthemic “Let it Rain”, and the cerebral “Love Is An Opera”. “My Mona Lisa” is the more Melodic Rock oriented track and one of my favorites.
One of the strongest points of Brent James is his ability to write interesting and mature lyrics, in perfect junction with his music combining rockin’ and tough parts with soft and tender sections.
“Moment Of Silence” is a pleasant classy, rootsy, American Rock album with very well written / performed tunes.
It has melody, cool hooks and a fun, fresh vibe. Brent James has innate talent and knows his way around a song. Production is above average, with a vital ‘live feel’ but really polished and expertly mixed.
The Contraband clearly had a wide range of influences, but Brent and the boys managed to create something original and fresh in any style they took on “Moment Of Silence”.
I think Brent James and his guys will be headlining shows of their own in the not to distant future. Keep a eye on them.
Really Cool.
You’ve seen it first here, at zerodayrock
01 – Moment Of Silence
02 – Furious
03 – My Mona Lisa
04 – Young Love
05 – Let It Rain
06 – Cloud Of Dust
07 – Sick And Tired
08 – Diggin’ Up The Past
09 – Love Is An Opera
10 – A Little Bit High
11 – Me After You
12 – Shine Shine Shine
Brent James: Vocals, Guitar
Jason Kott: Bass
Mike Puwal: Guitars
Matt Hayes: Drums
Tim Callaghan: Guitar
Skidd Mills: Guitar, Keyboards
BUY IT !
www.nehrecords.com/SHOP/JamesMoment.htm
