Welcome to this week’s Launch Box featuring firekid
On the surface Celtic, bluegrass, rock, folk with hints of gospel, hip-hop and a whole lot of pop played by an award winning guitar prodigy wouldn’t seem to be ingredients for a successful major label debut. But 24 year old Muscle Shoals native Dillon Hodges, aka firekid, combines these disparate sounds with an assured sense of melody and engaging vocals for a surprisingly winning album layered with a variety of dissimilar styles.
The album works on a few levels; as frothy pop-rock with ear-worm choruses made to be sung by the audience and as a showcase for firekid’s guitar and banjo skills that stealthily underlie the songs. Initial spins spotlight the former but closer inspection reveals the latter. It’s the mixture that makes firekid’s music deeper and more emotionally involving. His breathy, boyish vocals also expose a more defined style that takes on resonance during repeated spins.
firekid shows an innate sense of melody on songs such as the lovely “Boomerang,” a low key gospel influenced tune that’s both haunting and catchy.
But there is no denying the sheer hum-ability of tracks such as “Movin’ On,” the disc’s first single that includes prominent banjo, a dexterous acoustic guitar solo, churchy backing singers, thumping Celtic drums and chimes.
The closing “Americana Kid,” a dryly humorous tale about a metal band that traded in their axes for a bass and mandolin to cash in on the Americana scene, is the album’s lone solo, acoustic performance. It not only demonstrates firekid’s playful side but is a refreshing reminder that less really is more.