Single Review – Another Life by Jonny Reid
Legendary drummer Vince Leigh (ex Pseudo Echo, John Farnham, Tina Arena) joins SAM in reviewing one of our favourite singles…
Photo: Sheldon Ang Photography
Emerging country pop singer-songwriter Jonny Reid, originally from Portaferry on the North-East coast of Ireland, has lived in Perth, West Australia for almost seven years, playing regularly in the local music scene and honing his writing and performance skills. With the release of his debut album, Another Life, Australian audiences experienced first-hand the soul-revealing hybrid country-pop style of this Irish-expat troubadour.
His debut single, the title track from the album, has been a chart hit (number one on iTunes country charts and three on overall charts), and the album reached number one on the iTunes country charts and number three on the overall charts. Reid’s brand of feel-good guitar pop-rock has already made a decent impact. As well as sharing the stage with international acts such as Ritchie Sambora (Bon Jovi) and country music legend Nancy Griffiths, Reid has had a taste of the touring life with a series of sold-out local shows with his six-piece band.
Another Life emerges from behind a moody string, synth intro to become an understated country-pop song with an undercurrent of swelling melancholy that sees its peak in the chorus tag, a series of long notes that make for a pleasing end to the verse, pre-chorus, chorus cycle. Reid’s voice, and on this track more particularly, his committed performance, is the central focus, up front in the mix and well balanced against the soft tide of the music. Comparisons to Keith Urban will be made, of course—and perhaps rightly so—but Reid’s vocal style and particularly the timbre of his voice set him apart somewhat.
In this way, Reid is more Bryan Adams, David Gray than Urban in the vocal department and a mix of both these guys when it comes to his songcraft. Utilising a sonic palette of rock-tinged country merged with classic pop song structures and note choices, Another Life is aimed straight at that emotional jugular and pretty much hits the target, weaving together a direct lyric with an equally direct and accessible melodic charge.
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Another Life Official Music Video
