The Furious Seasons ‘My Love is Strong Review: Top-Notch Americana, With Depth

The Furious Seasons’ “My Love is Strong,” is the type of album that can turn anyone into a fan of Americana.

Thanks to top-notch Americana vocals and guitar work by David Steinhart and plenty of support on Bass from his brother Jeff Steinhart, as well as old-school beating drums by Bob Gannon and Eric Marin on keyboards, there’s a richness to the sound in the Furious Seasons “My Love is Strong” that makes this band fans of top Americana acts the likes of Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers simply must listen to.

Like a combination of Procol Harum and Steely Dan, The Furious Seasons steal your ears with lyrics that can only be described as sage-like. Talking about life and relationships, David Steinhart’s vocals are as real as can be. The simple rhymes but deep emotions conveyed in a track the likes of “Perfectly,” make him someone you can quickly trust. The nice cascading guitar and bass lines in the track also set the tone wonderfully. Simply put, this is a song to make love to.

But these guys do more than throw catchy ballads around. “Southern Night” is just a fun song with everything from organ and infectious 10-man vocal harmonizations that’ll take you back to an easier time in music where a chorus and some passion in the verses is all you needed to have a hit. A track about a man who is jilted by an old friend only to shoot him and prepare for the consequences, the story-telling is there from the start. It’s something that bands and acts the likes of Bob Dylan and even Death Cab for Cutie have mastered and their influences on this band are undeniable.

“Bad Man” is another track that’ll feel like a flashback, throwing the Dylan-type vocals at the listener, but simple yet more personal introspection to the lyrics, making it feel like something Paul Simon would have sung in his prime. It’s impossible not to get a high off the lyrics. “I wish I had what it takes to break your young heart. It should be quick, it should be easy. It’s so eager to be torn apart, but I do not have it in me to be truly mean. Even sh** faced drunk, I’m happy and I’m clean.” Add in the rich 12-string guitar and organ on the track give it some extra flavor, making it a track you can see a bar full of men singing at the end of the night.

Adding to the depth and range of the band’s sound is “Full Disclosure,” which has a Ska feel to it with Jeff Steinhart’s best bass work on the album and horns that make it something that could have been in the film “Snapshot,” during one of the film’s many road trip scenes.

Able to croon through emotional lyrics, yet tell everyman stories, using a wide range of vocal and lyrical styles and instruments, The Furious Seasons continue to refine the Americana genre and prove they’re a band that has great influences but a sound that’s incredibly hard to replicate.

mm
About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14269 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*