If you have heard of Alex Smoke’s “Love Over Will”, you’re probably thinking that it’s about a lovelorn man singing about the love of his life, or of a recent heartache. However, it’s far from that. The Scotland born musician has recorded music that varies from mystical and colorful to dark and ethereal. If this sounds like your kind of album, you’re in luck. So how about we sit down and talk about this album?

Let’s start with the first track “Fair Is Foul”. The track begins with a forlorn melody that tugs at the heartstrings. The acapella vocals and handclaps intro in “Dire Need” make this a fun song to listen to, though the dire financial need Alex sings of is far from fun. “LossGain” is a mystifying tune. The vocals have a powerful echo that gives this song a dark and ghostly sound. “Dust” has a unique beat. Combined with Alex’s vocals, the techno sound and percussion in the song makes it an interesting song to dance to.

“Galdr” has a dark and foreboding sound. “All My Atoms” has the sound of rhythm and blues combined with techno. This creative combination brings forth an amazing and lively theme. When you first turn on “Yearning Mississippi”, you will feel the urge to get up and dance. The titular track “Love Over Will” is a magnificent string and horn duet that commands your attention. “Manacles” is a dark and mysterious track.

In contrast to “Manacles”, “Whitening” is soft and angelic. The music is beautiful and very peaceful. “Astar Mara” is a science fiction fan’s dream. The robotic vocals and mechanical sounds are eerie, but as a fan of science fiction, I see it as an awesome track to listen to. Finally, we have “Star At The Summit”. Following in the same style of “Astar Mara”, “Star At The Summit” is a laid back melody with an out of this world theme.

Whether Alex sings acapella or if he alters his vocals to sound robotic, “Love Over Will” is awesome. I enjoyed the unique songs on this album and the fans will too. I think it’s safe to say that “Love Over Will” is ready to take the music world by storm.

Final Grade: A

About The Author

Lauren Beverly

Music Reviewer

I love to write and have been doing so since the age of eight. Fictional stories have always been a favorite of mine, because it gives me a chance to be creative and to express myself in a multitude of ways. On more than one occasion, a song proved to be the inspiration to several stories I have written. Believe it or not, some of those songs were on soundtracks! That’s mostly what I listen to, aside from hits from the 1950’s up to the 1980’s. I’ve learned that anything can be the inspiration to a story, even a poster from the 1990’s or a DVD cover.

I’ve lived in Upper Marlboro all of my life and spent much of my childhood watching cartoons of all kinds, and listening to my older sister’s cassette tapes. Growing up, I listened to everything Jackson related, Paula Abdul, Elton John, and even the controversial group Milli Vanilli. As a teenager, I continued to listen to old-school hits and that was pretty much all I liked, aside from listening to all of Michael Jackson’s music. To this day, I still love old-school hits. That hasn’t changed.

I own a variety of CDs from artists such as Styx, The BeeGees, Michael Jackson, Queen, The Yellow Submarine Soundtrack, and many others. When a soundtrack comes out, there will always be one specific song from that album that I’ll love. It never fails.

I’ve graduated from Bowie State University in December 2013 with a B.A. degree in English.

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