Secondhand Serenade - A Twist In My Story

Band: Secondand Serenade

Album: A Twist In My Story

Genre: Acoustic/Emo

Label: Glass Note/EastWest

Tracks:

1. Like A Knife

2. Fall For You

3. Maybe

4. Stranger

5. Your Call

6. Suppose

7. A Twist In My Story

8. Why

9. Stay Close, Don't Go

10. Pretend

11. Goodbye

Secondhand Serenade, aka John Vesely, is one of the artist picked up in the wake of the "Myspace" craze that has been sweeping our nation. However, unlike others of the same vein, Vesely took his music into his own hands before any label ever came calling. He paid for the original Secondhand release, "Awake," by himself and sold quite a few units as well as striking the top of the unsigned artists on Myspace all by himself. It was only after Vesely's impressive sales and popularity that Glass Note came calling. Te first re-released the debut. with new tracks, and sent Vesely off to tour and promote. Fast forward to 2008, Ater months of touring and some musical maturity, Vesely returns with, "A Twist In My Story [out 2/18]," and showcases a slightly expanded sound backed by a whole lot of heart.

Twist's sound and evolution from, "Awake," can most easily be related to the difference between Dashboard Confessional's "The Places You've Come To Fear The Most," and, "A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar." It's the same acoustic sound, only refined with the addition of the occasion full band. From the first track, "Like A Knife," it is clear that Vesely is set to blow up. The song is as heartfelt as anything he's previously written, but trough a drumer and bass line, the song becomes an instant attention catcher. From there we have, "Fall For You," which is a perfect single that showcases Vesely's piano skills as well as his marketability. You're almost sure to hear it at your next prom or other dance-like gathering. After that, Vesely's delivers some new renditions of old songs, such as, "Maybe," and, "Your Call," which sound a lot better than before, with full bands and less vocal layering. The biggest sign of maturity comes in the closing numbers, "Pretend," and, "Goodbye," in which Vesely and his backing band experiment even more with instrumentation as Vesely displays some of his best writing yet.Especially apparent on, "Goodbye," we find signs of the bright future that surely lies ahead for Secondhand Serenade.

Even with all his accomplishments on this album, I felt a little let down with the re-appearence of old songs once more. is die hard fans have been given them three time now and it just doesn't seem right. I remember how The Beatles would never put their singles on albums because they didn't think you should have to pay twice for something you already heard. Even though these are new versions, it's still the same songs. Lucky for Vesely, the truly new songs stand up so well, you'll barely noticed the recycled bits.

GRADE: 9/10