When Flaw first toured nationally for their major
label debut I heard a lot about them. While I enjoyed
a good bit of that album, it wasn’t until I
saw them on tour with Sevendust and spent some time
interviewing them that I realized just what they truly
had to offer. Chris Volz is a stand up guy and anyone
who has seen him perform live can attest to the fact
that he is one of the best front men out there today.
All that considered I love his entire body of work
and was intrigued by the idea of a solo album.
“Redemption” is quite, honestly, a mixed
bag on first listen. This certainly isn’t Flaw
or Five.Bolt.Main, although there are moments that
sound similar here and there. The title track could
have easily been (and perhaps was intended to be?)
a Five.Bolt.Main song, but after the final notes hit
the album breaks free of Volz old ways and trys a
lot of new things. The soulful “Altercation”
takes some getting used to but worms it’s way
inside your brain like all great songs do, not letting
you forget about it after it ends. The almost early
eighties Genesis flare ( think “Follow You,
Follow Me”) of “Sometimes” is one
of my favorite moments. Volz even sounds a good bit
like Phil Collins during his better years on this
song. “Dear Life” is the height of Volz
risk-taking ventures, replete with a seventies pop
style approach that he doesn’t do half bad.
Overall the key to liking this album is to remove
all expectations from your mind. For the most part
this is the sound of Volz stretching his wings, sometimes
it works and other times it doesn’t. “Redemption”
certainly isn’t going to win any album of the
year awards or be hailed as groundbreaking in any
way but it is an interesting listen and an expansive
step in his evolution as an artist.
Key Tracks: “Dear Life,” “Altercation”
Reviewed by Mark Fisher |
