Review Summary: Separate the man from the music.
It’s always difficult to approach an artist with a turbulent past such as Jake Mcelfresh. Although I won’t delve into it here, it’s hard to ignore all the events leading up to his ‘disappearance’ from the music scene, and his re-emergence with
I Never Lover Before I Found You. Thus, I implore you to check out a fantastic video from Anthony Fantano about how bad people can make good music. If you take anything from this video, let it be the question he responds with; “Why do we care if entertainers are bad people?”. A performers role is to perform music, art, literature. So why should we judge a performer by their personality? But try as we might, it can be hard to look past this. However, Jake Mcelfresh, for all his past mistakes, has come back swinging, releasing an album that’s full of grit, melody, and heart. But is this something that shows through, or is the album just what we expect from indie-folk solo artists?
Jake’s approach to his craft has certainly changed since his last LP
Aware. Gone are the samey, acoustic-led breakup songs he pumped out, and in are explosive, multi-layered tracks that present a more grown-up, self-aware man who is attempting to atone for his errors. Opening track ‘Burned’ starts mellow, led by his trusty acoustic guitar before rising considerably, showcasing his fantastic vocal range. Its inclusion is considerably high in the mix, but it’s power melds incredibly well with the orchestral touches not just in the track, but throughout the album. Taking notes from indie-folk outing City and Colour, the album weaves in and out of acoustic led ballads (‘Wrong Roads’, ‘Quick to Run’) to full-band tracks (‘Stones’, ‘Truth’), all the while focusing on Jake’s omnipresent vocals and lyricism. Focusing consistently on his past mistakes and his newfound faith in Christ, it adds a layer of depth to an already personal record. At times, it can become far too overwhelming and detract from otherwise great tracks (the chorus from ‘Perfect Man’, ‘Stones’), but it can be overlooked in most cases.
Although the orchestral touches and full-band moments add a great amount of variety, its tendency to sound samey and unoriginal is very much an issue throughout
I Never Loved…. The self-titled track has a fantastic violin background that picks up as the song progresses, but the acoustic layer is so underwhelming both in performance and mixing that it might as well not be there. In addition, some tracks purely feel out of place and uninteresting. ‘So Help Me God’ is a country-influenced song that falls flat quickly, with Jake’s vocals sounding far too forced. Both its lyrics (“Save me from myself/Hold me down/Lock me away/Don’t let me out”) and progression are mundane and too country-driven, sticking out in an otherwise great album. An another example of this is closer ‘Worship From a Wretch”; the song seemingly is building up to a big chorus, before cutting out and ending the album on a sour note.
The best tracks on
I Never Loved are the ones least like Front Porch Step’s previous projects; the electric guitar-driven ‘Truth’ grooves a surprising amount, mixing well with a strong bass line and Jake’s ever-present vocals; ‘Wrong Roads’ is a measured ballad that slowly incorporates other instrumentals as the track progresses; the aforementioned ‘Burned’, which opens the album with a strong full-band performance; and the violin-laden ‘Rewind’, which sees the lyrics digging deeper into Jake’s obsession with fame and disconnect with God.
So, the question is, where does Jake Mcelfresh take his music from here?
I Never Loved Before I Found You shows a fantastic display of maturity, but is marred by the at-times distracting lyrics and some poor songs. The orchestral arrangements found on much of the album adds a great sense of depth, and consistently outperforms Jake himself. Although still the centrepiece of Front Porch Step, he takes a much-needed step back from his music throughout the album, and lets the music carry the weight, rather than him carry it himself. If anything,
I Never Loved... is a step in right direction for a man with a dark past and a bright future.
Recommended Tracks: Burned, Truth, Wrong Roads, Rewind
