Music Review // Michael Ward "Little Yellow Aeroplane"

 

When "Little Yellow Aeroplane" begins it has this big rocking quality to it.  I'm reminded of Metallica for quite a bit of this song, but I feel like Metallica leans a certain way in their sound that Michael Ward.  This has elements of a band like Angels & Airwaves as well, maybe even No Motiv, so it just goes to a lighter almost post rock type of vibe rather than to full on metal.   Before the end there is this deep, heavy guitar solo and it just feels like the best parts of metal without being overly heavy.

As Michael Ward starts this song and carries it through until the end, the lyrics tell a story.  It's that type of song where you can pull the lyrics out of context to quote them and they'll make sense still, but at the same time they make more sense when they're within the context of each other.  One of the lines that comes out in here at a time I particularly enjoy the music in as well says: "In that moment I choose to tell you / It destroys you completely".  It's powerful on its own, but also within the context of the song.

While I definitely feel like you need to listen to these lyrics in context, this is also just that type of song that has a lot going on musically.  That guitar by the end, the way it kind of drops and takes off, reminds me a bit of Coheed and Cambria.   You're going to find those influences when you think about bands you might know who are heavy but not quite metal, as that is the type of sound this is.  So my suggestion is to definitely just take this as a ride musically first, then go in and listen to the lyrics and experience the story which is being told.

Michael Ward reminds me of a time when albums used to have concepts.  This takes me back to the days when you'd feel like an album was an experience and not just a collection of songs, though all of that can come through simply in this one song.  For a while (but not so much any more) people would over use and incorrectly use the word "epic".  Everything was "epic" for a few years.   But this song, "Little Yellow Aeroplane", truly is that definition of an epic tale and it's one that we all need to be a part of together.