By Charlie Englar
Jonathan Tiersten and his band the Ten Tiers make one thing known on their new five song EP, We’ll See: They are going for national recognition and regular play on Top 40 stations. Moving from pop rock to roots rock, the EP has major mass appeal and radio sound written all over it.
The New York-bred and current Fort Collins resident opens his EP with “In The Air,” a powerballad that brings to mind more Creed than what Tiersten’s website claims as “a cross between Tool and Cream.”
Used as the theme song to a horror film called The Perfect House, “In The Air” displays some inspective lyrics; “I know you’re watching from the inside/Your twisted thoughts reflect my mind.” A ten second arena-rock guitar solo makes a showing before the fi nal chorus is sung and the song closes.
Songs like “Theodore” and “Black Rain” tone it down into the realm of roots-rock, with a bit of piano making a solid appearance in both tunes, and touches of slide guitar and strokes of banjo used in “Black Rain.”
Tiersten’s website makes another claim of the collective songs being “contemporary and timeless.” The latter remains to be seen, but all in all the EP is what it is – good musicianship and good writing bundled together for mass appeal. A lot of people will more than likely dig it, but some won’t.
jonathantiersten.com
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