Album review : THE SPEAKER WARS – s/t

May 25th, 2025 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date 23.05.25]

Writer/producer, Stan Lynch and singer/musician, Jon Christopher Davis crossed paths several years ago in Nashville. Songwriters both, they discovered an emotional connection, subsequently writing a bunch of songs together. This would eventually manifest itself as The Speaker Wars’ debut album.

There won’t be many rock fans who haven’t heard of Lynch. He was a founder member of the Heartbreakers along with Tom Petty.

You can hear Petty’s influence here, along with the distinctive sound of artists like Don Henley and Bruce Springsteen, all who have had a powerful influence on Speaker Wars’ music.

The teaser trailer tracks do what they’re intended to do. They whet our appetites, they capture our attention, they announce a major talent. It’s clear that the pair’s songwriting chops and individual talents are of the highest calibre.

Singles ‘The Forgiveness Tree’ and ‘You Make Every Lie Come True’ have been out for a while now. Alone, these songs are overflowing with the pair’s conviction in their ability as artists and love of their art.

With a drums, percussion, bass, guitars and keyboards underpinning, Davis turns his muscle and blood vocals on ‘It Ain’t Easy’s emotional turmoil into a Tom Petty party trick. Fabulous track, with a fabulous arrangement, smoothing the sharp edges with pop and rock harmonic textures.

Daringly, they mix even more classic pop elements into ‘Taste Of Heaven’. An harmonium intro; eloquent, Harrison like axework, and a rough edged, questioning, Lennon-esque vocal … like Cheap Trick doing a Beatles’ song … turn this track into a glorious piece of music, magnifying all that’s best about the pair’s whip smart songwriting.

The gnarly ‘Trader South’ and the balladic ‘Leave Him’ are cast from a traditional Country mould.

It’s tough to be original in Nashville of course. And both artists prove themselves to be writers rooted in tradition, but The Speaker Wars amply demonstrates that they refuse to be tamed by it.

And by picking up on the classic elements of rock, country, and mainstream pop, then moulding and shaping them into their own likeness, they’ve delivered one of the year’s better albums, no question. ****1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

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