Monthly Archives: October 2025

Single Reviews: Copper Flats – “Should’ve Been Doin’,” “Household Name,” and “Airplanes and Telephones”

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photo by Misty C Photos; photo courtesy of Skye Media

Single Reviews of Copper Flats: “Should’ve Been Doin’,” “Household Name,” and “Airplanes and Telephones”

Copper Flats is the trio of Brandon Kelly (lead vocals), Jeremy Castaldo (keys/acoustic guitar/electric guitar/background vocals), and Drew Smith (acoustic guitar/background vocals). And “Should’ve Been Doin’,” “Household Name,” and “Airplanes and Telephones” are the band’s first trio of song releases. Three singles, three different nuances on a bigtime, bowl-you-over, massive country music sound. Copper Flats explodes out of the blocks with these catchy, radio-ready arena-pleasers. Simply put, if you like modern guitar-driven country music, you’ll dig Copper Flats.

photo by Misty C Photos; photo courtesy of Skye Media

One of my personal complaints about this type of music is that the songs can be formulaic and unimaginative. Copper Flats does tug at many of the stereotypical heartstrings, as their songs delve heavily into the topics of home, family, and nostalgia, but they don’t get lazy with their lyrics or their instrumentation. That’s the difference between pretender and contender in the world of big, booming, rockin’ country music. It’s also a necessity to get a review with my byline here at the blog. (“Just like everyone else” doesn’t cut it with me.)

image courtesy of Skye Media

The big, swirling guitar that kicks off “Should’ve Been Doin'” reminds me of something Lonestar might do. (You may have noticed over the years that if I reference Lonestar, that’s a big compliment.) It’s a simple, homespun life message packaged in a catchy veneer, a pop-friendly ode to the simple life with a message that appeals broadly. And they namedrop George Strait in the lyrics – you can’t go wrong with that! Plus, it sports a hook that’ll have you remembering it for a while.

image courtesy of Skye Media

Until, of course, you hear “Household Name.” Putting a fun spin on the term, celebrating small-town family life, the energetic verses lead to a memorably hooky payoff in the title lyric. I’m also a bit partial to the late-song musical breakdown that’ll give you chills if you’re in just the right mood. In the promo material, Castaldo captures the song’s essence: “We don’t need fortune and fame, but thank God every day for the lives he’s blessed us with and the opportunities to lead our families and households well.” That’s about as cool a message as there is. You oughta give this song a listen.

image courtesy of Skye Media

The third Copper Flats single, though, topped these first two in catchiness, and believe me when I say that’s not easy. In fact, I’d rather listen to these three songs in order than just one on repeat. Yet “Airplanes and Telephones” is probably the best of the three. It’s a wistful heartbreak song penned by country hit-writers Andrew Dorff, Jonathan Singleton, and Zach Crowell, that sports a big country sound, surging with power, peaking into the title lyric, then releasing into another thoughtful lyric, all wrapped up in a tuneful package with some kickass electric axework dancing through it to help it rock.

Based on these three songs, I have no doubt Copper Flats would be a fun live show and is capable of reliably releasing singles and albums that’ll appeal to any country music fan, as well as plenty of us with broader musical tastes who simply enjoy catchy, energetic performances of well-written songs.

photo by Misty C Photos; photo courtesy of Skye Media

More Recently

The band has a couple more recently-released songs on Spotify – “Golden” and “Blue Collar Man” – though I haven’t heard them yet. (I’ve just been churning through my review playlist.) I’ll have to check them out when I get the chance.

Looking Ahead

This is a sound that’s almost certain to play well live, and they have several shows coming up. In November, you can catch the band in Conway, El Dorado, and Paris, Arkansas. The first week of December, they’ll be performing with Sister Hazel in Pontiac, Michigan on December 4th and in Wabash, Indiana on December 5th. And Copper Flats has a New Year’s Eve show in Benton, Arkansas. Be sure to check out the “Tour” page of the band’s website for times and locations of those shows, as well as additional performances, as they’re added.

You can also see all of the Copper Flats’ social and other key links at its linktree.

Album Review: Tony Moore – Awake

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photo courtesy of Tony Moore

Album Review of Tony Moore: Awake

Tony Moore‘s Awake is an old-school, timeless, progressive-influenced classic rock album. Remember how great those records are beginning to end? If you’re a fan of that kind of guitar rock music, this is a new collection to add to your best-of list. Something about the vibe of album-opener “Awake” instantly reminded me of Pink Floyd upon first listen, and the whole Awake record has a concept-album vibe very much reminiscent of that era, though Tony’s underlying style is crisper, cleaner, and a bit more modern.

image courtesy of Tony Moore

The album was inspired by the events of the first year of the pandemic – the lockdowns, the uncertainty, the surreal reality. I won’t go into detail because Tony explains it well on his website, including the idea’s germination out of the song “Awake,” at this link. Metal Talk digs even deeper in its interview with Tony at this link. In my review, I’ll just focus on the music itself – an epic guitar-rock masterpiece – and you can return to these links to read more afterwards, perhaps while you listen to the album on Spotify, Bandcamp, or elsewhere.

Album opener and title track “Awake” is stylistically cool and fun to listen to as it unleashes a rhythmic guitar riff-filled, instrumental-only opening only gives way to lyrics at the 4:51 mark. This song sets the tone for the entire album, which is fantastic as a beginning-to-end listen but also features several songs that are standalone treats. And I wouldn’t often say such things about a nine-and-a-half minute song (to be fair, 9:26), but this is one of those treats. The axework throughout is inspired, recalling for me a recent quote I read in this Louder interview/article from Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris about Tony’s guitar playing on Awake: “The music is kind of proggy, which I love, and if Tony could play guitar back then the way he does now he’d probably still be in the band.” High praise, indeed.

photo courtesy of Tony Moore

Another of those kickass standalone tracks is the record’s third song, “Love We Need You Here,” which is partially reprised in the penultimate song slot, as “Love We Need You Here Pt. II,” helping to thematically and sonically tie the album together. This is a softer song, mellow and swaying, with a strumming guitar style that features some western music style flourishes while primarily being a straightforward slow, strumming rocker supported by a curtain of background synth that almost sounds orchestral. The vocals, meanwhile, are just slightly gravelly, emphasizing their heartfelt nature, ideally suited to the song’s payoff lyric, occurring both early and at the end of the song, “Love, we need you here. We need your guiding hand to help us understand. Love, remove the fear and bring us all back home. Don’t leave us lost and alone.” If you’re listening closely, it’ll give you chills.

And it’s followed by a kickass, straight-ahead rocker, “Just One Night.” There’s a little Pink Floyd feeling to this track, but it also sports a lot of the pure pop-rock styled pop music sensibility Tony has featured in some of the catchy, less guitar-driven Tony Moore singles I’ve enjoyed over the last decade or so, since I first became aware of his music. If there’s a potential fast-paced breakout hit on this record, this is my best-bet. Roll the windows down, and crank this one up when you’re zooming down the highway; it’s well-suited for that. I bet it really amps up the audience when played live, too.

photo courtesy of Tony Moore

The next track, “Hopium,” is another especially long number. There’s probably not a lot of hope for this one as a single, but it’s one of the album’s more memorable songs and a personal favorite. It’s followed by stylistically-similar “Dear Life,” almost flowing together in such a way that a full-album listener barely notices the transition a new song. However, it’s a more radio-friendly length, and it’s topically more broadly-applicable, making it a likelier option for external commercial use. I’m thinking movie soundtracks, though perhaps sans the really nifty guitar solo two-thirds of the way through. Soundtracks, during the movie itself, are likely to exclude the slight stylistic and tempo variance that make it a more interesting standalone song; hopefully the soundtrack album will still include the full track as recorded, though.

“Not Normal” is a very proggy song that thematically moves the album forward both lyrically and with its heavy rhythmic beat. Morseo even than the rest of the disc, which leans by varying degrees this way, you could almost drop “Not Normal” right into The Wall and it wouldn’t seem at all out of place.

The keyboardwork of “Remember Me” is another element that helps tie the record together, providing a mid-album vibe similar to the early and late appearances of “Love We Need You Here.” The moods you’ll get from this track are introspectiveness and melancholy. It’s followed by a song that thrives on subtly frenetic energy, “Crazy in the Shed.”

photo courtesy of Tony Moore

I’m not personally a big fan of speaking-over-music tracks, but “Dark Winter,” next, does move the mood and concept forward ominously, as does the next track, a more traditional prog rocker, though a heavy-beat-driven, booming, plodding, soft-power-driven one, “What’s the Point.”

“The One Percent Solution” is a cool song that can effectively drive somewhat different messages, whether a rather specific thrust when viewed through the lens of this concept album versus a potentially broader theme as a standalone number. The song itself progresses very coolly, softly building up to power, though maintaining a very modest tempo throughout.

photo courtesy of Tony Moore

“We Are One” follows, with its rhythmic bounce and marching tempo, combined with tempo changes and stop-starts, guitar flourishes, and emotive vocals, whether soaring or rhythmically emphasizing the beat. This is a track that’ll have you bouncing in your seat.

“Asleep” pleads for action, soaringly, proggily, as one would expect near the end of a concept collection like this one. And just about every guitar-rock fan will enjoy the very cool, rising and falling, soaring guitar solo that drives the last two-plus minutes of this song.

After the short reprise of “Love We Need You Here” – specifically, “Part II” – the crunchy, guitar-driven “It’s Not Over” serves as a rather hopeful album closer. One reason it’s important to listen to the very end of Awake is because, regardless of how you feel after the rollercoaster musical journey that brought you to this point, “It’s Not Over” will restore your hope and determination. And there’s some pretty kickass guitar in the song, too, particularly in the back half.

Awake is a masterwork of the concept album format. It’s a beginning-to-end listen that ebbs and flows. It’s clear why the related concert performances have proven so popular, and I’m hopeful that Tony will continue to tour Awake as an event concert, at least from time to time, throughout the rest of his career, in and around any other work he produces. It’s an experience, a music journey, a conceptually tight collection worthy of prog-rock, straight-up rock, and arts-in-general music fans.

Watch for upcoming tour dates on the “Tour” page of Tony Moore’s website. And be sure to keep up with his goings-on via social media, like his Instagram page or his Facebook page.

Album Review: Will Hawkins – Cartas No Enviadas

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photo courtesy of Will Hawkins

by Eric Harabadian, Contributing Blogger

Album Review of Will Hawkins: Cartas No Enviadas (Fastback Records)

Will Hawkins is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who is best known as the frontman for the band Nine Mile Station. That band’s debut 2023 album BAZAR received many accolades from the music cognoscenti for its lyrical songs, vivid storytelling, and dynamic production.

With this new solo release Cartas No Enviadas (Unsent Letters), there is that same creative spark and territory mined in his previous, lauded band context. Actually, the album title suggests each song as a note or message, yet to be delivered to the subject or receiver in question. Hence, the album, in total, almost plays like variations on a theme or concept.

image courtesy of Will Hawkins

“What Your Words Say” opens the album loud and proud, with a declarative and plaintive urging to a significant other, stating it’s time to get out of each other’s way and lay it on the line. There’s an honesty and passion in Hawkins’ delivery that really seals the deal here in terms of pure emotional connection. “As Good As it Gets” follows and features great hooks and a memorable chorus. The song is a reflection on life and how one places themselves in the world. Dan Nachimson’s brilliant piano playing really illuminates the sentiments here.

“C’Mon Now” is sort of an open-hearted song. Hawkins’ dynamic and unvarnished words cry out for someone to be transparent. Musically, there is a smooth mid-section shift from odd rhythms to an uptempo break. The song really builds to a stunning crescendo that’s very effective. “Messy” is a cover of British pop star Lola Young, and Hawkins takes the angst and swagger of the original to another level. Session man, indie artist and producer extraordinaire Fernando Perdomo provides the surrounding ambience of the track via minimal keys, drums, and spacey guitar.

photo courtesy of Will Hawkins

“New Friends” is a cover of David Poe and brings out some of Hawkins’ east coast Springsteen-type roots. It’s upbeat, with a great hook. And Lainey White’s swirling violin even suggests a Dylan-meets-Mellencamp vibe. The Colin Hay nugget “Waiting For My Real Life to Begin” gets a thoughtful and pensive reading here. Phil Parlapiano is the pianist on this track, and his decorative and prominent accompaniment adds gorgeous luster to this treatise on living in the moment and appreciating what’s happening in the now.

“California” talks about the wanderlust and desires of a young man seeking the bright lights and fame of Hollywood. Gerald Menke’s pedal steel guitar gives the song an early Jackson Browne and the Eagles kind of feel. “Anything” is a tune from Hawkins’ formative years in NYC. Recorded live at The Baggot Inn, it’s a nice original ballad that drifts into jamming in sections. It’s a nice stretch out for the band. The album concludes with a dedication to Hawkins’ father entitled “May the Road Rise to Meet You.” It’s a traditional Scottish proverb that is lovingly detailed, including the artist’s own bagpipe playing in the fade-out.

Will Hawkins is a talented and multi-faceted musician and producer who presents a contemporary Americana and West Coast sound that is timeless. His songwriting is reflective of CSN&Y and all the greats to arise from the classic Laurel Canyon period of the ’60s and early ’70s. But he is also on the cutting edge with modern troubadours like Dawes, Jason Isbell and others. Hawkins is an artist to keep on your radar.