A Warm New Single From Ted Stanley
A new single release from Ted Stanley digs a little deep and pretty detailed with lyrical descriptions so that you can paint a picture of the story being told as the song unfolds which is quite a beautiful aspect of his songwriting in general and a wonderful way to soak in the music.
"Secrets of the World" somehow feels warm and welcoming in its tonality. Clean and crisp guitars and a performance that reminds you of folk but with a little bit of Tom Waits influence at times. I love this aspect because this track actually combines several genres in a contemporary rock format. It gives you elements of classic rock and its undertone.
Along with these guitars, you have live percussion and string-based synths that begin to build more of an orchestrated soundscape that goes along with the track's sentiment and almost cinematic backbone in a sense.
This is a track that you pay a lot of attention to in terms of the lyrical content but you also get engulfed by the music as well. Having that lush soundscape along with the warmth of the guitars and vocals gives you something you can hold on to.
You pay attention to the story and everything that he's singing about but you also get wrapped up in the melodies, performances, and almost soothing energy of this single.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I listened to a lot of underground and popular classic rock music along with the popular bands of the time. Ted Stanley manages to capture the essence of several decades in soft rock music along with again, bringing that folk element to the table.
The vocal performance is quite beautiful and the chorus is something that manages to stick with you for long after the song has ended and the only way to satiate that is to go and listen to it again.
I love listening to a track like this because when I do, it lets me know that this artist would be great to see live.
The energy captured in the performances throughout this song alone gives you a hint of that live performance energy and I definitely got attached to that element of the song as well. Soaking which I suggest doing with headphones on because it's one of the best ways to go.
The layers and textures happening throughout this track are wonderful and one of the best ways to soak that in, along with the lyrics of course, is by listening with headphones.
Upon listening to the single I had to check out some more from Ted Stanley and came across a new track called "Secret Land" which has more of a piano ballad style approach to it. The piano was the base instrument but again, this track grows into a more orchestrated and lush, full-bodied feeling sound.
Then there are songs like "Between The Lines", which showcase more of his Americana and southern influences. The track boasts a bit of that undertone as well.
As you dig through his releases, you start to get an idea of how he loves to tell stories and the lyrics or something you end up grabbing onto for most of his releases.
The warmth in tonality is pretty much always there and this is a beautiful attribute of the music as well but you do pay attention to those lyrics a lot of the time.
Again, I get a bountiful sort of cinematic feeling from some of these tracks. They can indeed paint some visuals in your head as you listen to them and, at times, can even cause memories of your own to pop into your head which is quite connective.
It seems Ted Stanley has found his way to tell his stories and the music is exactly how he does it.
Not only am I going to suggest listening to this single, but also listening to some of the other releases so you can get a better grasp of all that he has to offer as a songwriter and performer.
Dive into this now and see how it affects you.
