by Andrew Liles
OUR GRADE: B+
As The Stars Explode, the sophomore outing from Saskatoon based country rockers The North Sound, is woven together with song after song of real life lyrics, catchy chord progressions, and rock solid musicianship expertly mixed by Forrest Eaglespeaker and Jesse Weiman at Nolita Studios.
Helmed by the husband and wife power house duo of Eaglespeaker (Lead Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist) and Nevada Freistadt (composes and performs vocal harmonies), on As The Stars Explode, The North Sound have collectively created a thought provoking and energized album that keeps the listener engaged from beginning to end.
The most striking and impressive aspect of this duo are their lush vocal harmonies which is especially evident in the title track, “As The Stars Explode” and “Wild Rose Country”. This carries over to the lyrically vulnerable track of “My Happiness” where Eaglespeaker talks about alcohol challenges in his past. On the flip side, Eaglespeaker then celebrates sobriety with an inspiring message of, “...enough is enough, gotta get back up...” with the track “Better Days”.
At the end of the day, the variety of emotions and musical feels from songs like “Young, Dumb, Drunk And Not Doing So Good”, “Turn Tonight”, and “Between The Ditches” makes As The Stars Explode an easy listen while providing lyrics that make you reflect on and celebrate life.