The Motives Review
With their debut self-titled albums, The Motives provide solid ground on which to build. Though the album doesn’t dazzle, there are many very artistic and strong moments and the album shows great promise for the future.
The album opens with powerful guitar and soaring B3 in “Never Tell a Lie,” before settling into a cool – but still strong – vibe. In many ways, “Never Tell a Lie” is a good representation of the band’s style: it begins with a powerful instrumental section, before settling down into cool rhythm guitar, bass, drums and vocals. As the tune progresses, there are kicks that the band hits together and the song has a nice ebb and flow to it. After a strong guitar solo by leader Matt Taylor is followed by a nice bridge/breakdown, before the song resumes. It’s a nicely formatted tune and well-played all around. The band has very nice arrangements, at times featuring time and groove changes, kicks, hits and generally well-formatted tunes. A nice blend of jazz, blues, rock and pop, the Motives are well-rounded in their influences, and they incorporate elements of all of those styles into each of their tunes. “Looking For the Way Home” is a catchy, almost nostalgic tune similar to something one might hear from the Doobie Brothers and will probably be the biggest hit of the album. “Gone Before” is a gorgeous ballad and the album ends with “Baby Don’t Lose My Number,” a tune that’s half New Orleans parade and half blues-shuffle.
The biggest problem with the band is that they sound, in some respects, formulaic. While this critic has great respect for their arrangements, as they are very solid, the compositions and arrangements are too similar. Vocal harmonies occurring in the same spots, similar melodic motifs throughout and arrangements that, by the end of the album, sound cliché, despite being rather original and fresh. In short, if the Motives can develop a little more variety, a few more tempo changes, some more stylistic changes, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
The Review: 7.5/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– Never Tell a Lie
– Looking for the Way Home
– Gone Before
– Baby Don’t Lose My Number
The Big Hit
– Looking for the Way Home
Review by Nik Rodewald