Tim Qualls got almost nothing but love from Rocks Off when we took on the task of tabulating the terrific tunes from his debut EP This is Our Land last year. Our one complaint was that it was really more of a single than an EP, with the backend being filled out with acoustic demos. We can't say the same for the four strong new tracks that make up the Melancholy Sessions.
Previously, we walked you through the recording process of the EP as Qualls eschewed his former recording studio and moved into the exciting world of recording in your buddy's bedrooms studio.
That sentence may be dripping sarcasm all over your home row, but we halfway mean it sincerely. After all, the power of a private individual to put out their own work with basic affordable tools has never been greater. We can certainly attest that Qualls has used the medium to full effect.
Joined by J. J. Cole, a guitarist of jumper-unbuttoning ability, Qualls continues the themes he explored in his YouTube chronicles. The music is definitely downbeat. The tracks lack the sly ego that made us once include Qualls in a list of famous musical boasters.
Instead, what we have here is a sort of hipster perseverance. That Qualls has and continued to struggle in both his career and that weird myth-world they call Real Life is quite clear as he tackles the enduring depression of a recession world.
Still, the tunes never falter in their catchy guitar lines or Qualls' soft Mraz-esque vocals. Also, his faith in love remains pure. If there is any message to be learned from the Melancholy Sessions it is that love will take you through all manners of mayhem and mishaps.
That message, framed in Qualls' ironic style and flourished with Cole's guitar lines, should make the EP standard bedroom fare. Spin it before bedtime like little ones say their prayers and maybe, just maybe, the God of Making Songs Come True will shine down upon thee.
We sat down with Qualls to pump him a bit about the EP.
