By Ljubinko Zivkovic, Rock At Night Amsterdam
Review: Stephen Babcock – When We Were Kids Ourselves -Release date November 10, 2022
When the singer songwriter tag came into play, it was mainly used to describe artists/musicians that sat down with their acoustic guitar, or possibly a piano and started coming down with some very introspective music and lyrics with just that single (or maybe two) instrument(s).
These days, we still use that term, but the music of such artists has become quite varied, crossing int different genres and including varied instrumentation from electronic embellishments to symphonic orchestras.
At the same time, the themes they cover in their music has become as varied as the music itself.
Nashville via Buffalo singer songwriter Stephen Babcock, whom his fans have dubbed ‘the internet dad,’ is another of those modern singer songwriters who work within a number of musical genres, and vary their lyrical themes to cover a wide musical and thematic ground.
Babcock got the ‘internet dad’ nickname due to his his relatable pop music and consistent fan engagement, especially amidst the depths of the pandemic’s lockdown as well as a series of opening acts for artists including Ed Sheeran, Izaak Opatz, Canyon City, William Hinson and Girl Blue to name a few.
And all those musical and lyrical characteristics are evident on his second album, ‘When We Were Kids Ourselves.’ Here, Babcock runs the gamut of styles from the seventies West Coast style soft rock, to modern pop with constant touches of country and rock. In most cases, it is all done within a single song.
As Babcock explains, “This album is about the journey and growth experiences post ‘growing up’. It’s so easy to feel isolated when you’re taking on something challenging in life, and we tend to normalize the idea that in adult life, we’re supposed to have it all figured out by now. I hope my music serves as a bastion for people experiencing challenging emotions, and I hope my voice can help those struggling to find the words they’re looking for in their own life.”
Essentially, what we got here is a layered, sophisticated singer songwriter pop of high quality.
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