|
Tom Wehrle's sophomore effort Room To Dream denotes
music for the optimistic and the dreamer at heart. The follow
up to his debut release Something You Can't Find is a musical
oasis of folk-pop valances and misty vocal resonance that's a
cross between Jack Johnson and Maroon 5, giving
folk-laden wanderings an upbeat pop surge. He is a proficient
songwriter akin to Diane Warren and Veruca Salt's
Nina Gordon, which allows his songs to be flexible, fitting
in with folk-pop, alternative country, soft rock, and indie pop.
He is a songwriter's songwriter with the skills for dressing the
interlocking thoughts of his lyrics in an array of textures and
time signatures, but no matter where he takes the music it is
always thermostat for an adult contemporary climate.
The folk twinges in the pop insignias on "Far Away,"
"My Heart Breaks Through" and "I'm Not Good Enough"
offer lukewarm guitar tones and cozy rocking back and forth bass
motions. The melodic lines are conducive to one another and are
compassed to follow a sanguine leitmotif. Wehrle engineers mid-tempo
numbers like the exhilarating vibes injected into "I've Fallen,"
the Beatles-esque consonance of "Without You"
augmented by peppy horns and esprit rhythms, and the stylish pop
embellishments adorning the title track which showcase a Maroon
5 sensibility. Wehrle also purveys dexterity in mixing up the
time signatures like in the track "Hold On Tonight"
starting the tempo soft with loosely wrung beats and then injecting
it with intervals of intensified flourishes. The evolvement of
beats has a Nick Lachey juggle as Wehrle jostles between
soft frequencies and torrential outpours.
Wehrle's soft side includes dollops of piano melodies which have
a Fiona Apple-like cavalier shown on tracks like "I
Will Be Your Friend," "This Show's Over," and "No
More Flowers", which has laces of breezy horns and comfy
snare drum taps. His pop/rock tunes like "Just In Love With
You" and "Only Lonely" are upbeat with sections
of jumping vocal strides and pulsating rhythms enlivening the
melody's folk base. The soft folk-pop number "Nothing Else
Can Take Your Place" drifts with a coasting rate as Wehrle
unlocks his thoughts into lyrical forms like, "I see you
everywhere and nothing can compare to you/ I know you'll always
be because nothing else can take your place with me." Wehrle
taps into locked up thoughts and releases them as lyrics for his
songs.
Tom Wehrle's proficiency as a songwriter is reflective of The
Wallflowers, Jack Johnson, Natalie Merchant, and Aimee
Mann. His folk and soft rock immersions have a pop rigging.
The music has easy mobility and melodic inclinations. It is best
suited for an adult contemporary audience who like a little Maroon
5 spring in their usual music java.
-Susan Frances
Track Listing:
1. Far Away
2. I've Fallen
3. I Will Be Your Friend
4. Without You
5. Hold On Tonight
6. Room To Dream
7. Just In Love With You
8. No More Flowers
9. My Heart Breaks Through
10. I'm Not Good Enough
11. Only Lonely
12. Nothing Else Can Take Your Place
13.This Show's Over
Check out
more reviews
 Talk
Back
e-mail the chief
Like this article?
e-mail
it to a friend!
|
Tom
Wehrle 
