MITCHELL HUNT – Give Me A Sign (2015)
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From the small town of Croque, on the tip of the Northern Penninsula Newfoundland, Canada, arrives singer / songwriter MITCHELL HUNT presenting his debut CD “Give Me A Sign“.
This 12-track album surely will please all Melodic Rock fans out there, looking for simple yet melodic easy listening tunes.
According to the press release, Mitchell hunt has had a passion for music since he was a young boy. He began singing and at a very young age and then moved to the ‘big city lights’ to learn how to play the guitar and write songs.
From there he formed a band called ‘Nasty Weather’ with close friends that played many shows around Newfoundland for quite sometime.
He has since recently started a solo career to pursue his dream of making it in the music industry and continues to plays shows solo on the local scene. His diverse range of originally composed songs fit a very large audience of young and olderer people.
Well, after listening “Give Me A Sign”, I agree.
Hunt’s music is inspired by the mainstream Rock sound from the ’80s / ’90s with a strong radio orientation, at places modern but always melodic.
Overall, the songs on the CD remind me the work of Australia’s melodic rock sensation Dion Bayman (both albums featured here) as heard on the catchy opener “Never Gonna Say”, “Steal Your Heart” and later on the riff-driven “Make Him Pay”, a bit hard rocking and one of my favorites.
The guys on the band provide a solid foundation for Hunt’s clear vocals, all perfectly mixed and separate (especially the very good rhythm section) while Clint Curtis delivers some real meaty solos and a punchy rhythm guitar base during the verses.
All is balanced by well crafted midtempos like “Closer to You” (great guitar solo here), the solid “Movin’ On” (in the vein of Waltham) and the ultra-melodic “Already Gone” (with some Rick Springfield on it).
Of course there’s bright ballads here such as the AORish “Forever and Ever Again” adorned with a synth/string arrangements (a bit of ’90s Bon Jovi), and the moody, melodious “Scream”.
A couple of cuts, “Closer to You” and the title track are more modern with a Goo Goo Dolls vibe, not my favorites but very well done and with a strong radio potential.
Mitchell Hunt owns a charismatic voice and the ability to write simple and effective melodic rock / rock& pop melodies. “Give Me A Sign” is more than a solid debut, it’s very well arranged and performed, and essentially, greatly produced.
The artists mentioned above are a good reference to Mitchell Hunt’s music. Add to this a touch of Bryan Adams or the recently featured here Claus Hassing and you have a very well rounded product ready for the Summer.
Strongly Recommended.
01. Never Gonna Say
02. Give Me a Sign
03. Chance to Be With You
04. Steal Your Heart
05. Movin’ On
06. Already Gone
07. Closer to You
08. Stronger
09. Forever and Ever Again
10. Scream
11. Make Him Pay
12. The End
Mitchell Hunt – vocals, guitar
Clint Curtis – guitars
Steve Clarke – drums
Julian Traverse – bass
Pre-Order CD:
mitchellhunt.net/
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