Whenever someone makes music, they should always stop and ask themselves what it is about their music that would make someone care about it.
Will Hoge must have failed to ask himself this question with the creation of his latest album The Man Who Killed Love. He has instead succeeded in creating another bland, boring, normal, overly Nashville-sounding mix of country, blues and rock that fails to do anything special.
Sure, all the instruments are perfect, every note he sings is on pitch and powerful and every tone is right out of the Nashville sound bible. What is missing here is something that connects. The album never makes you feel like you should care.
The first song, “Pocket Full of Change” is an excellent example of what happens when you remove dynamics from music with too much compression. It never gets louder or quieter, and therefore, never stands out. This sets the mood for the rest of a completely lifeless experience.
Lyrically, the songs range from playfully ridiculous like “Wait ’Til Your Daddy Gets Home,” to contemplative and passionate like in “Woman Be Strong.”
The songs all seem to have standard formats with emphasis placed on repetition of hooks. Some of them are as lame as I got a habit ’bout you.
Some people may enjoy this album. Some people may like the familiarity of the tones and the feel of all the songs. Maybe you really like cheesy Nashville pop, I don’t know.
The best part of this album was the use of horns, which were included sporadically throughout the CD. But even they aren’t doing anything that special.
This album is designed for people who don’t actually want to hear anything even slightly different. If you spend your time listening to this album, I hope you are either related to Will or writing a review of the album.
I hope he is good looking, because his music definitely isn’t going to turn heads.