From the first few notes on the latest album by Louis Cross, you could tell he has so much more than “A Page To Tell” to his listener. The 5 track EP is called “A Page to Tell” and deals with Louis’s self-discovery journey and his experience with disability. The first track, “Better Light”, is fast-paced and sets the stage for what is about to come. The track is brief and impactful and doesn’t deviate away from its main guitar riff and vocal melody. The second track, “Picture Frame”, is my favourite track on the album and I’m sure it will be found by many to be the best offering on this EP. The song’s length is adequate, its lyrics are heartfelt and it is stuffed with details like backing vocals and a drum pattern that builds up into something heavier. The piano that plays here adds a very subtle emotional quality to the sound of this track, as it is heard loud and clear during the verses as if it’s a Beatles song. Up to this point, you could see that Louis is not trying to limit himself to one genre or style and go by it, he just writes what he feels. ” I Don’t Know” is the most Folk-ish sounding track on the record, and is a very sketchy offering.
The style with which Louis enunciates his chest notes slowly and with some nasality will remind many listeners of the great Johnny Cash, except this is what Johnny Cash would sound like if he collaborated with Elton John. The fourth track, “We Are All The Same”, is the one song in here that’s bound to be a mainstream pop hit, and this is not to say that it’s poppy or simpler than the rest of the tracks in any way. On the contrary, it has some nice violin melodies and a catchy chorus that make it stick into the listener’s ear much easier than the rest of the EP. The lyrics are inspiring people to come together and forget their differences while the music is a collaborative effort between many different instruments that form the melodies. “Life Can Tell You Down” begins with an emotional violin line which is followed by vocals that follow the same exact melody, and I just love it when songwriters do that. This is another track that sounds very modern and can fit in a modern music record if it was written by the likes of Ed Sheeran or John Mayer.
Let’s hope we see Louis and his music as famous as said artists one day, cause his material definitely deserves the same level of recognition and mainstream play. The sixth and final track, “A Page To Tell”, feels like Louis is pouring his heart out and trying to find his sound. Certain lyrics in here shattered my heart the moment I heard them too, such as “I remember each fall as it began”. But other lyrics are super uplifting, such as the chorus with its amazing and empowering violin and guitar melodies. The angelic way Louis cries out “I’m A Page To Tell” transcends his feelings so well while sticking to the same musical blend and style that he created. In conclusion, it’s safe to say that Manchester-born singer-songwriter Louis Cross is bound for stardom and mainstream success. I can even go as far as saying that he will be one of the greatest voices of his time. The only setback with this EP is its play-it-safe production that compromises experimentation for the sake of rawness and familiarity. And while I understand that this could be the better choice for an early point in his career, I wish to hear a more polished production in his future endeavors because he sounds like he has a ton of potential to him that still hasn’t revealed itself
