Ace Enders And A Million Different People – When I Hit The Ground
I reviewed Ace Enders way back in June of last year when he released The Secret Wars on his own accord. The freebie album was a solid compilation of deep and thoughtful tracks that touched on society and the world. Ace’s ideas structured through music was a fresh change from the mindless powerpop I’m usually hopped up on, and no doubt was I excited for the release of When I Hit The Ground. Vagrant records was gracious enough to send me a promo copy a week in advance, so mind you I’ve had a solid week with this album to make a fair judgement. Without sounding like too much of a geek, I did find this album very worth while and was able to revisit the same inspired feelings I got when listening to The Secret Wars.
Firstly, I’m ecstatic Ace decided to recycle Reaction and Bring Back Love, which happened to be my favourite tracks off of The Secret Wars. While the same intricate themes underlie the majority of When I Hit The Ground as they did in it’s predecessor, there are some major improvements in sound and entertainment value. When I Hit The Ground took the musical aspect to a more vibrant and exciting level. While this does not directly translate into a more soulful or better performance, I found it gave Ace more room to freely express his mind and musical prowess. The aggressive and erratic emotions I’m referring to can be heard right from the get go with the intro. Reintroduction is a small little melody that transitions from a mellow beat to a tragically grungy rock sound, it’s emphatic with just 2 minutes and 25 seconds of play.
The first actual track, Take The Money And Run, has a groovy melody and an extremely catchy pace. The rhythm compliments the calmer voice of Ace, giving off a modern rock vibe. The song reminds me of the band Ash with the exciting guitar work and nostalgic vocals. This is perhaps one of the more “out there” tracks on this album, boasting a lively set of instruments and a more frantic pace in comparison. The vocals are so classically suave and there may have been some slight editing done to give it that hip style. Otherwise this track feels very rock and very big in sound.
That said, it is the more soulful and mellow tracks that I appreciate most from Ace Enders. Such tracks like The Only Thing I Have, When I Hit The Ground and SOS litter the album with a soft almost alternative rock styling. The songs are moving and provide an incite into the mind of Ace himself. I’m in a constant battle of thought when I listen to this album, which is an exceptional quality for any release. Feelings of hope and disparity, thoughts of love and life and an overall euphoric sensation begins to take over. Without overhyping the album too much I will say it is not by any stretch of the mind an artistic masterpiece, but it is sincere and honest. Ace Enders comes off as a very down to earth artist and his music is a testament to this.
Ace did a great job with this album, including a variety of different tracks, some hopeful, some tragic and others simply rocking. For the most part there is a good variety of slow and fast paced songs, which makes the album constantly progressing as you listen to it. Ace doesn’t miss a beat using his vocabulary to instil a sense of feeling and injecting life into an otherwise listless genre. He’s not a saint, nor is he the be all and end all of music, he may not even become anything more than he already is, but I think what’s important is he’s genuine, and that’s why this album is more than just music.
Check out his Myspace for more info about him.
Ace Enders – Take The Money And Run
Ace Enders – When I Hit The Ground
Tags: album
