The Reklaws, Sophomore Slump Album Review
The Reklaws continue to be one of the hottest acts in Canadian country music, and the Ontario sibling duo is keeping the momentum up with the release of their second full-length album, Sophomore Slump.
The album shares 11 songs and the adorable Gramps’ Intro off the top. Not all of the songs will be new to fans of The Reklaws, with Where I’m From, Karma, Beer Can, Godspeed, and the acoustic cut of Where I’m From coming at the bottom of the tracklist. But on the whole, with six new songs to go with the five tracks fans have already latched onto, they’ve got something good going on here.
Related: The Reklaws Down a Summer 3 Pack with Beer Can, Karma & Godspeed
The title of the album seems to reference the longstanding music industry lore of an artist’s second release falling flat. But it feels like there’s a tongue firmly planted in cheek because we’ve already seen Where I’m From climb the charts, finding its way into the Top 5, and now their new single Not Gonna Not is going to have a chance to find some success of its own.
The Reklaws – Not Gonna Not
Jenna and Stuart have earned the reputation of being fun entertainers with the ability to slow things down and show you their heart. They are big city polished and smalltown roots. They’ve continued to find new tweaks to their sound in song choice and production. And they’ve grown as singers and performers.
On Sophomore Slump the CCMA-winning duo mix playful and sweet, giving toe-tappers like You Problem to go with a lovely little ditty like So Crazy It Just Might Work that just might give some lovebirds the push they need to give it a go and find some magic. Here’s hoping!
As part of a new generation of Canadian country music, The Reklaws have shown that they belong, deserve their share of the spotlight, and are ready to keep pushing forward. The songs on Sophomore Slump do that, taking some chances, finding songs that are going to be a lot of fun live, and including radio-friendly tracks that will keep them spinning on FM dials on country stations from coast-to-coast.
The Reklaws’ willingness to get a little pop-y is likely to ruffle some feathers in the “old school country music” community, but that’s par for the course. Over the years we’ve heard them cover Kanye & Rihanna, go to rock with Steppenwolf, and on the Winter’s A Beach Tour they busted out a medley of Let’s Get It Started // Umbrella // Stacey’s Mom // Party In The U.S.A. // All These Things That I’ve Done // Bang Bang // Mr. Brightside. There’s room for those influences. Genres of all kinds are meant to be bent and pushed and blurred. So don’t get yourself in a tizzy if you don’t like some of the new school production, just move on. And if you’re all in, share it with your friends – that’s what music is for!
If you’re looking for 36 minutes of new Canadian country music to dive into this weekend, hit play on Sophomore Slump and let The Reklaws show you what they’ve got to offer.
Enjoy!
The Reklaws, Sophomore Slump Tracklist
1. Gramps’ Intro
2. Not Gonna Not
3. Got Me Missing
4. You Problem
5. I’m Down
6. So Crazy It Just Might Work
7. Your Side Of A Broken Heart
8. Where I’m From
9. Karma
10. Beer Can
11. Godspeed
12. Where I’m From (Acoustic Version)
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