Christian Lopez has a myriad of influences baked into the music that he serves up with his band. Self proclaimed as having “a 19-year-old with the soul of a 65-year-old Appalachian mountain bluegrass musician hidden away inside”, I don’t necessarily get bluegrass from this record, but I do get influences that run deep and an ability to take them and spin them into something contemporary and fresh.
The first note of “Take You Away” brings me back to the first time I listened to Jason Isbell’s “Southeastern”. That album very quickly became one of my favorite recordings of all time, so I suppose that’s saying something. That’s not to say that Lopez’s voice or music really bears any further resemblance to Isbell, but it certainly evokes that feeling in. Like the first time you see a real pretty girl and you know that the image is going to keep with you for a bit and plague your mind in the best kind of way after the experience passes. Lopez’s songs are sticking.
The songwriter’s music walks a line, criss-crossing borders in its sound that could be consider on the pop spectrum, but the rootsiness is undeniable here as well. It’s catchy, good songwriting. There is an ebb and flow to the tracks here, it keeps a pace that keeps the listener interested, but lets you linger on the words just long enough to really feel the stories and envision what Lopez is trying to portray for his listeners. An old soul inside of a young body is an understatement here. The 19 year old’s recording performances contained on “Onward” are that of someone well beyond his years, but still his youth brings a certain freshness to his writing and the songs. I think this is just the beginning of a long and successful career for this gent. Keep an eye out on him.