Tommy Ray!, whose music I last reviewed in May of last year, has a recent single out on the digital platforms that is well worth the attention of anyone who enjoys power pop. I have been an admirer of Ray's talents since the earliest days of this blog — which shockingly now date back to 11 years ago. As great of a band as The Cry! was, I'm finding the Tommy Ray! solo stuff to be at a whole other level. Ray has always had a flair for a memorable melody and a perfect hook. But lyrically, he's really hitting his stride with songs that absolutely nail what it's like to be a young adult struggling to figure out life. It was Paul Westerberg who famously wrote about missing "the whole first rung" on the ladder of success. Tommy Ray! seems to be living that life, and I continue to be blown away by his brutal honesty and keen self-awareness. He's never afraid to cut himself open in a song. The new single "Every Way I'm Moving" is typical of a Tommy Ray! song in the respect that it's a bitter pill to swallow lyrically yet so musically intoxicating with its sweet melodies and gorgeous guitars. If you've ever felt like you were going nowhere while everything was falling apart around you, you'll be feeling lyrics like these:
I can't stand the pain/
If you turn and walk away/
I got one food in the grave/
And the other's in the way/
Of every thing I'm doing/
And every way I'm moving
Wow, that's powerful stuff. Elsewhere Ray ponders that "it's easy to laugh at a day's gone past when hindsight's in your face" before asking the musical question "What would you do if it was you stuck here in my place?" And that's spot-on. No matter how times many people assure you that things will ultimately get better, that's little solace when the short term is so hard to bear. While far from a "feelgood" song, "Every Way I'm Moving" is perfect pop in just about every respect. Every time I get to the end of the song, I want to play it again. Sometimes we don't need music to make us feel good. Sometimes we need it to make us feel less alone in the world. While "Every Way I'm Moving" is a song very personal to Tommy Ray!, it's sure to strike a chord with a whole lot of people.
Handful of Hits is the second solo album from Tommy Ray!, front man for power pop greats The Cry! It's hard for me to believe that it's been nearly a decade since I first wrote about The Cry! Man, time flies! After going several years without hearing any new music from Tommy Ray!, we have been blessed to receive two albums from him in two years. Handful of Hits continues in a manner similar to last year's fantastic solo debut First Hits Free. The lyrics are personal, brutally honest, and in some cases quite dark. Yet with this being a Tommy Ray! album, you know you're getting upbeat melodies and irresistible hooks.
Compared to First Hits Free, Handful of Hits is an even stronger selection of songs. Ray continues to turn out tunes reflective of his experiences as a young adult trying to find his way in the world. "One Step Forward" is about trying to grow up but not being able to fully pull it off. "Loser's Anthem" and "School Daze" explore similar themes of being young and aimless. "No No No" and "Feel the Pain" are classic Tommy Ray! "bummer love songs". Hearing these songs for the first time gave me chills because they reminded me so much of my own 20s when life was so full of letdowns and uncertainties. The realism and honesty of Ray's songwriting just blow me away. Elsewhere, Ray shows his sweeter side on "If You Need Anything" and engages in classic storytelling on "I Didn't Do It". Musically, he continues to draw from inspirations ranging from '50s/'60s rock and roll to '70s glam and punk to modern-day power pop. Songs like "Runnin'", "If You Need Anything", and "Beer Wine and Whiskey" would not sound out of place on a Cry! album. "In Love Again", "One Step Forward", and "Feel the Pain" are bona fide pop hits in that signature Tommy Ray! style. And then there's "On My Wall" -- which is modern, moody, and totally unlike any song Ray has released before.
Handful of Hits, like First Hits Free, is very simply produced. And that's a good thing. Without any bells and whistles in the production department, the quality of the songwriting really comes to the forefront. Tommy Ray! again shows himself to be one of the finest young songwriters in the world of power pop and rock and roll in general. There are few things in life more satisfying than a perfectly executed three-minute pop song. Handful of Hits is chock full of that very thing -- living up to its title for sure. Vinyl coming next month on GadM and Beluga Records!
"Long-awaited" is a phrase that often turns up in my reviews. But I don't think it's ever been more suitable than it is today. The Cry! released two of the greatest albums of the last decade in 2011 and 2014, and we've been waiting for a follow-up ever since. The long awaited First Hits Free by Tommy Ray! is not quite a Cry! record. But it is a solo album from The Cry!'s lead singer and primary songwriter. Many of these songs were written for The Cry! but ultimately not chosen for the band's third album (which will likely be completed this year...fingers crossed!). This album is a little "less produced" compared to The Cry!, but Ray's songwriting has never been stronger. He wrote most of this material himself, with assistance in spots from John Nelsen and Brian Crace.
Musically, First Hits Free has more of the power pop feel of the first Cry! album vs. the glam-punk vibes of Dangerous Game. Even when he's writing about very serious subject matter (which he frequently does on this album), Ray has a knack for wrapping it all up in these irresistible pop hooks. First Hits Free is very much in The Cry!'s patented style of '70s power pop and punk by way of the timeless melodies of '60s rock and roll. But it definitely feels like a solo project, and I love how it's reflective of how far Ray has come as an artist. He's been working hard on this album for a few years now, and you can hear his growing life experience coming into these songs. This record really takes me back to my own later 20s: a time of much disappointment, uncertainty, frustration, and heartbreak. If you just skim the surface of these songs, you might take this for a textbook power pop album. This thing is full of memorable melodies, hooky choruses, and the catchiest guitar leads you could ever hope to hear. But lyrically, Ray pushes far deeper than he ever has before. Songs like "Life Goes On", "Hey Susanne", and "Trouble" find him coming into his own as a storyteller. And while he's still writing love songs, they're for the most part about the bitter letdown of failed relationships ("Ain't No Use", "Tuesdays Girl", "Good Luv - Gone South"). I love how "Take A Chance" seems so upbeat and innocent...until you really start paying attention to what Ray is singing! That's also true of "Voices" - a punky number that tackles the very serious issue of schizophrenia. "No Better", the album's penultimate track, finds Ray's songwriting ascending to new levels of complexity and sophistication. I'd call it the magnum opus of his songwriting career so far.
While rawer than both Cry! long players, this full-length debut from Tommy Ray! ought to delight anyone who loved those albums. Ray's style of singing and songwriting is instantly familiar, and if anything he has refined and grown his talents over the last six years. First Hits Free is just a fantastic pop record, and I find it a very authentic rendering of what it's like to be a young man still trying to navigate adulthood. This is a guy who's busting his ass to make it as a musician, and he's given us an album full of his reality. We don't have to call it the "next best thing" to a new Cry! record since we're actually getting a new Cry! record in the near future. But even if we weren't, this would be a tremendously satisfying next chapter in the musical life of Tommy Ray! Digital album is releasing later this month on Apple Music, Spotify, etc. Physical release coming on the German label GadM and SP Records out of Japan!
