Twenty-year-old David Archuleta rose to fame in the seventh season of ‘American Idol’ in 2008 when he finished as the runner-up. Archuleta grew up near Salt Lake City where he often sung in church and won several amateur awards in his younger years. His third album, ‘The Other Side of Down’ went on sale on the 5th of October 2010 in promotion of the singer-songwriter’s tour of Southeast Asia.
First and title track, ‘The Other Side of Down’ puts Archuleta’s gentle yet soulful tones and show from the offset. His vocal abilities are wonderful both live and on record and his songwriting skills are relevant, individual and enjoyable. Moreover, his rapidly changing vocal range is astonishing for someone who originated from a T.V talent show, as they are often severely criticised for churning out average artists. ‘Something ‘Bout Love’ was released as a single on the 20th July 2010 and utilises modern, if a little cheap sounding voice effects. However, they do not take from the exquisite tone of David’s vocals in this chirpy, without being cheesy track; uplifting in all the right ways despite the addition of squeaky club textures towards the end.
‘Elevator’ was released through radio airplay on the 14th of September 2010,and it is another well-written, soulful and joyful song. Although it follows a similar format to much of Mika’s material, that is not to be criticised. It is startling to hear such a staggering vocal range and musical ability in every single track. Even with the bouncy backbeats of ‘Stomping The Roses’, Archuleta’s remarkable talent is never sacrificed, and despite the fact that he appears to have no specific listener range in mind, the music is likeable to anyone with a good ear. One can imagine, judging from the gentle build up of songs like ‘Who I Am’, as well as nice harmonies, that Archuleta’s live shows are very well put together. The combination of his voice and light piano is nothing short of fantastic.
The pained emotion of tracks like ‘Falling Stars’ truly reflects that negative feelings make the best music; this song is stunning as sentimental, so the faint progressive drumming is unfortunate. Archuleta’s voice is strong enough to work simply with guitar or piano so some of the sweeping beats and string sections, as found in ‘Parachutes and Airplanes’ are somewhat distracting. However, tracks do need some build-up, and sadly often include poor tracks to fill album space, such as ‘Look Around’, which David’s voice cannot even save. ‘Good Place’ is a similar composition to ‘Crush’(2008) until the epic chorus hits, by which point, the constant voice echoes and repetitions have become extremely overused on ‘The Other Side of Down.’
Even the artwork of ‘The Other Side of Down’ itself is somewhat generic, which is most likely not Archuleta’s intention but that of his record label and manager who want to remind listeners of where Archuleta came to be. Interestingly, ‘Complain’ is another impressive track, but is very similar in sound to James Morrison’s ‘You Make It Real’ (2008). The format of each track and the album overall is very good, which continues for the final two tracks ‘Things Are Gonna Get Better’, which is so optimistic it reflects David’s religious roots, and piano-led ‘My Kind of Perfect’ gives listeners a final, breathtaking hit of his superb talent.
First and title track, ‘The Other Side of Down’ puts Archuleta’s gentle yet soulful tones and show from the offset. His vocal abilities are wonderful both live and on record and his songwriting skills are relevant, individual and enjoyable. Moreover, his rapidly changing vocal range is astonishing for someone who originated from a T.V talent show, as they are often severely criticised for churning out average artists. ‘Something ‘Bout Love’ was released as a single on the 20th July 2010 and utilises modern, if a little cheap sounding voice effects. However, they do not take from the exquisite tone of David’s vocals in this chirpy, without being cheesy track; uplifting in all the right ways despite the addition of squeaky club textures towards the end.
‘Elevator’ was released through radio airplay on the 14th of September 2010,and it is another well-written, soulful and joyful song. Although it follows a similar format to much of Mika’s material, that is not to be criticised. It is startling to hear such a staggering vocal range and musical ability in every single track. Even with the bouncy backbeats of ‘Stomping The Roses’, Archuleta’s remarkable talent is never sacrificed, and despite the fact that he appears to have no specific listener range in mind, the music is likeable to anyone with a good ear. One can imagine, judging from the gentle build up of songs like ‘Who I Am’, as well as nice harmonies, that Archuleta’s live shows are very well put together. The combination of his voice and light piano is nothing short of fantastic.
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| 'The Other Side of Down': Artwork |
The pained emotion of tracks like ‘Falling Stars’ truly reflects that negative feelings make the best music; this song is stunning as sentimental, so the faint progressive drumming is unfortunate. Archuleta’s voice is strong enough to work simply with guitar or piano so some of the sweeping beats and string sections, as found in ‘Parachutes and Airplanes’ are somewhat distracting. However, tracks do need some build-up, and sadly often include poor tracks to fill album space, such as ‘Look Around’, which David’s voice cannot even save. ‘Good Place’ is a similar composition to ‘Crush’(2008) until the epic chorus hits, by which point, the constant voice echoes and repetitions have become extremely overused on ‘The Other Side of Down.’
Even the artwork of ‘The Other Side of Down’ itself is somewhat generic, which is most likely not Archuleta’s intention but that of his record label and manager who want to remind listeners of where Archuleta came to be. Interestingly, ‘Complain’ is another impressive track, but is very similar in sound to James Morrison’s ‘You Make It Real’ (2008). The format of each track and the album overall is very good, which continues for the final two tracks ‘Things Are Gonna Get Better’, which is so optimistic it reflects David’s religious roots, and piano-led ‘My Kind of Perfect’ gives listeners a final, breathtaking hit of his superb talent.
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| David Archuleta |
‘The Other Side of Down’ is exceedingly cheery without being too bubblegum based, and it really reveals the talent and abundance of future potential for David Archuleta.
4/5
4/5
Enjoyed reading your review! The Other Side of Down is one of my favourite albums this year. Hope you'll also be reviewing Archuleta's "Glad Christmas Tidings" tracks (recorded live with The MoTab Choir).
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