“The Year is a concept album … and it takes you through a relationship for the entire year,” Tim Myers said in a press release regarding his second studio album, released on Jan. 6.
Formerly involved with the band One Republic, there are many of the same recurring elements found on The Year that one would find on a One Republic album, including heavy orchestration, featuring boisterous pop hooks and the necessary acoustic guitar. Myers released what can be considered a pop-culture friendly, radio album.
By not sticking to solely folk-oriented sounds or fully immersing himself in the orchestral elements, Myers ends up with a final project that has no specific identity. The Year caters to the demands of the general public and media instead of blazing its own path in the future of pop music.
The lead single, “March: Hills to Climb,” is the perfect example of this album’s orientation toward the demands of corporate media executives and the allure of profit rather than a single that evokes a specific meaning. It is the type of song that has been heard so many times before in commercials and cinematic cut scenes, with it’s racing beat, deafening combination of percussion, strings and guitar and a chorus of “Ooohs” rather than actual lyrics. This profitable sound, popularized by Mumford & Sons and Myers’ former band, One Republic, overshadows the few good works on The Year.
The slower tracks are Myers’ triumphs on this LP. “October: Written in the Stars” features a romantic string arrangement and Myers’ vocals describing what some may call the “honeymoon phase” of a relationship: how perfect two people are for each other and how it seems as if that euphoria will never end.
Rounding out The Year is “December: Somedays.” This final track ignores the orchestral elements that so profoundly dominate the first eleven songs. “December: Somedays” gives listeners a calmer, more folk-oriented piece with Myers singing over a refreshingly simple acoustic guitar riff.
This calm conclusion does not atone for the substance-lacking body of The Year. Other than taking a peek at the album cover, mixing geometric design with the natural, “December: Somedays” is the only part of this album worth any of your time. If you prefer fresh musical ideas to music that follows a trend that has been recurring for several years, avoid The Year at all costs. If you want to hear the same thing again, then you are welcome to indulge.
Rating: C-
