Music Review // Oliver James Brooks "Lines On My Eyes"

 

As soon as "Lines On My Face" begins you can recognize the dreamy groove.   It certainly feels like not as many artists are able to bring back this style in modern times, but Oliver James Brooks has this way of what was once referred to as crooning.   In the same way that this song comes out like Buddy Holly and that era of rock n roll, there is something about the way Brooks tells a story within these lyrics.  That guitar strum, almost hypnotic, starts as the only thing which you can hear but becomes secondary to the lyrics eventually.

One of the best set of lyrics I can bring out from this song says: "Who can tell whether you're right or whether you're wrong / And who's to tell you if you do or don't belong / It doesn't matter / It doesn't matter what other people think".   This is one of those important life lessons we all need to learn, and if it's through that soothing voice of Oliver James Brooks then so be it.  There is perhaps nothing more important in life than being true to yourself and doing what you feel is right, not what other people might want to try and influence you into doing.

What I perhaps like most about this song though is that there is an entire genre of music out there who are song writers but also have a heavy focus on their lyrics.  I won't name names, but these are the artists who you will find yourself quoting more than thinking about how great of a guitar player they are.  To those artists, it feels almost as if the music- that strumming of the guitar- becomes secondary to the lyrics to the point where it almost doesn't matter.  That isn't the case with Oliver James Brooks, however, even though his lyrics can feel just as important as poetry.

The reality of "Lines On My Face" is that the music itself is so complex it can feel simple.  There is this quality of the guitar part that makes you feel like it's just the same chord over and over, but in reality it is so much more and it is also not something easily accomplished.  To have the music that complex with the meaningful lyrics is not something I'm used to (it tends to be one or the other) but perhaps Brooks has stumbled upon a deeper rock n roll for a new century.