Billy Raffoul – 1975 (EP)

This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

On Billy Raffoul’s debut EP for Interscope Records, entitled 1975, Raffoul capitalizes on his strengths: powerful, soulful lyrics and precise musicianship. At just 23 years old, Billy Raffoul mesmerizes on this EP with his bluesy vocals and pain-felt delivery of every lyric. On top of that, he’s an incredibly talented and underrated guitarist.

On the first single released from the EP, called “I’m Not a Saint,” Raffoul belts out that “I’m not a saint/But I could be if I tried.” With the earnest and heartfelt delivery found on this track, you would be hard pressed to not be a believer in what he sings about. With an almost everyman-type approach to his songwriting, much like DIY-ers Brian Fallon and Butch Walker, Raffoul makes you really feel what he was going through when he wrote this songs that are easily relatable, while simultaneously brilliant.

On the opening track, simply called “Acoustic,” Raffoul sets the tone nicely for the rest of the content found here, and grabs the listener’s attention from the get-go. It’s here on this track on that he is at his most vulnerable stating, “Baby, we can strip it down/We can take it back to basics/Baby, we control the sound,” putting his heart firmly on his sleeve confessing why he would want this person to stay with him. Imagine being at a coffee house down the street and hearing this type of vocal delivery and confidence brooding from the stage; you’d be hooked in just as easily as I was when I first heard this artist.

Overall, 1975 finds Raffoul showcasing what he does best: telling a soulful story of someone who is honest about what he believes in, but more importantly, gets you to believe his every action behind it. Simply put, we need more transcending artists such as Billy Raffoul in our daily music rotations in order to learn why we fell in love with music in the first place.

Expand - View Original