Released: July 13, 2010
Label: Ripple Music
I like pop music, but there’s always this underlying sense that I’m being hoodwinked by it. Are the hooks and the glossy sheen that make it so easy going down distracting me from fundamental flaws? Is it all based more on head than heart? Perhaps it’s unfair, but those questions pervade my enjoyment of all things slick and pop.
You Can’t Argue With Water forces me to ask those questions immediately. Is “Shine,” the album’s opening track, really infectious or is it infected with sugary, insidious sweetness? Throughout the album, several tracks leave me in this same quandary with the questions unanswered. However, others seem to answer for them. The country-tinged “Mrs Jones’ Cadillac” still has that California breeze rock ease, but it also lets a bit of its real heart shine through. “Caroline” exposes some soul and the Beatle-esque “A Love Sublime” is hard to deny. Even “Indian Summer,” the maudlin closer, cuts through the saccharine elements at times.
Some things are clear on You Can’t Argue with Water: Kevin Beadles can write. He can sing. He and his band can play. What’s a little less clear, but still evident if you’re paying attention, is that Kevin Beadles has soul in his music. The album’s title is true. Water, a universal good, goes where it pleases. You can’t argue with it. The same goes for soul. He should trust his to go where it pleases also. That’s what stands between a good album and a great one.
Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 5/10
Overall: 6/10
If you’re curious about my rating system, it’s explained here.