I'm finding it really hard to categorize Jeremy Spence's debut album "Pieces" as essentially just one thing. Spence takes on the same kind of personality and identity as Dashboard Confessionals, But at the same time, has a lingering tinge of a euro Coldplay flare, that's most notable in the latter half of the album. The theme of self embrace, love and thinking for yourself echoes through this album as resoundly as any instrument. The simple yet subtle beauty lying within this recording is the exploration of sound that Spence finds within the confines of tempo and vocal tones.
"Pieces" is really about love trying to transcend anything that gets in its way. You could say that alot of these songs are just day to day love struggles. But the lyrics sometime take a political swing, which is vastly different from the rest of the album. There are political parellels and overtones that are being intertwined into his lyrical expression that keeps you guessing what he is really talking about. I grew up in a household where partisan politics was frowned upon, and learned the importance and value of the constitution, said Spence. He also noted that we've embarked on a period where our civil liberties are slowly being taken away from us, and it's up to us to make sure we don't give up our freedoms under false promises of security.
Veteran producer Tyler Monks said that all of Jeremy's songs were written acoustically so he really tried to keep the acoustic guitar as the main staple. Jeremy already had the meat of his songs vocally and acoustically, so he felt like he didn't want to deviate from that fundamental foundation. Tyler pontificated that they would at times abandon the acoustic guitar and veer off into an abyss of different production sounds, and would always inevitabley strip it back down to the acoustic guitar, which is pretty much the glue that made these songs work.
Aside from his political plight, Spence has found a way to create a unique landscape exposing his musical versatility from a light pop-rock sound to a dark introspective sound that grabs the inner depth in all of us. Aside from the seemingly simple percussion rhythms, there has been definite care in the arrangement of song order, as each song tends to flow emotionally from one to the next. So with that being said look for good things to come from this new artist, and pick up your own copy of "Pieces" today. You'll be glad you did.
