Lucas Redding – No Fear (Album Review)

No Fear, the latest 13-track album from pop musician Lucas Redding, is described by him as ‘orchestral-based pop/rock’. The album’s title track features a wide array of instruments. Drums permeate the whole song, but now and then you get strings, bells and horns. Vocally, Lucas Redding is dynamic on many fronts. At times he’s half singing and half talking, and at times his delivery soars. Another noteworthy dynamism is Lucas Redding shifting from sometimes using the falsetto and sometimes employing a bassy voice.

Lyrically, the song gives away its theme by its title and the repetition of the singing, ‘No fear! No fear!’. As our lyrical persona addresses themselves, we hear:

‘I wanna be free to be me with no apology for living the way I can’.

That’s clarity right there, although at times you have to play close attention to the lyrics to get them.

Up next is ‘The Ruins of Us’. This is romantic or heartbreak song. Thinking about the good times in their relationship, our lyrical persona here seems not to accept that their partner is no longer in the picture. They put to them some questions, badgering them really. It’s a sad song at the end of the day, the story of a character who believes perhaps that they still have a chance. Instrumentally, the drumming seems to be inspired here.

There’s some percussion and piano on ‘Falling’, the drumming giving me a marching band feel. Thematically, the song also deals with the memory of a changed relationship. Vocally, Lucas Redding starts half singing, shifting the intensity as he goes.

‘Beautiful Pride’, starts with the piano, the sound however taken over by drums. Vocally, there’s no intensity like on the previous song. Instead, we are started off with a bassy vocal rendition. But if we all been seeing a lyrical persona hit hard by love, on this song they talk about having a beautiful ride, them never having thought they’d know how it feels to fall in love at first sight. But enters this lover and the feeling comes true. This song speaks about the power of love. Lyrically, Lucas Redding is playful – singing about ‘emotional tsunamis’!

Drums are even more prominent on ‘Word Around Town is The…’. The instrumentation and vocalization are playful, but lyrically, Lucas Redding deals with a serious relationship issue. Facts have to be faced unless they want to stay trapped in their walls.

Piano, drums and string appear on ‘Disappear’. However it’s the piano that takes the cake for me. There’s something soulful, if not melancholic, about it. The overall sound however being whimsical. Lyrically, Lucas Redding here is poetic. For example, we hear of the sky embracing the dust.

Then comes ‘The Words I’ll Never Say’. The song has Lucas Redding’s typical orchestral rock sound. A brief whimsical piano come through. Here Lucas Redding sings sweetly on a song that lends itself to abstract lyricism.

The rock sound is more prominent on ‘Say The Word’. The crunchy guitar is in full play here. For me, it’s the star of the show, and Lucas Redding twists the sounds in a variety of ways. This is a song I could listen to just for the guitar. Lyrically, the persona of this song says that if the other person does not want them, they should just say the word. You can say that the story is about the character being ready to leave a relationship. 

‘Justified’ comes up next. The lyrical persona here reveals to their offender that taking them for a game makes them go crazy. The bass is heavy and you get a variety of instruments on the song – from strings to the drum.

Up next is ‘The Best Times’. Violin starts us off, and is then followed by a throbbing drum beat. Crunchy guitar and bagpipe also come through. Lyrically, the song’s persona speaks of the daydreams they were in with this other person – a beautiful ride; times, they say, they would hold on to the rest of their lives. Lucas Redding’s vocals are sometimes intense here, but sometimes the throbbing beat gives in a little to decelerating sounds.

‘Numb’ follows. With vocals over piano, Lucas Redding here goes in a different direction, although drums appear later. This then gives the song a heavy feel to it. Lyrically, when it’s just voice and piano, you can hear Lucas Redding clearly sing, ‘I always thought that you and I were meant to be something to last for all eternity. I should have known it was too good for me’.

You get strings and drums on ‘Dusk-Lit Lake’, but the instrumentation fades away, producing an understated sound. This allows one to focus on the clean vocals. Here the lyrical persona reveals to their addressee that they have never felt closer to them more than they were standing closer by the water. But it’s not a happy-going story since they talk no more, drifting away.

‘The Finale’ closes off the album. The piano starts us off, but later on we have drums coming in. Our character here opens their heart for love – but they open it only a bit. Moreover, they are not to go through wars, as long, they say, they’ll meet the other person in ‘the finale’. He song ends with an orchestral flourish or echo – perhaps fitting for n orchestral project.  

SCORE/Excellent: Although there’s the piano here and there, Lucas Redding sticks mostly to his orchestral rock sound. I find this commendable. If you’re in the mood for mostly rock, then this ought to be pleasing. But on a bad day, you might find yourself criticizing the album for being monotonous.     

Follow Lucas on Twitter