The Sheepdogs have said that they wanted to play music that they love, which is, as band member Ewan Currie describes, “pure, simple, good-time music”. That would be an accurate description of the band’s new album Future Nostalgia. Produced by Matt Ross-Spang and Ewan Currie, Future Nostalgia is a larger than life album that will take you on a ride so amazing that you won’t want it to end.

I’m Gonna Be Myself is best enjoyed with the volume cranked all the way up. I Really Wanna Be Your Man is full of energy and the guitar solo is enough to bring the audience to their feet. Downtown is a little different than the first two tracks. This one is a little mellow and easy listening, much like Jim Gordon, which has a smooth jazz sound.

The rough guitar strumming takes us back to the up-tempo tracks with the hard rock Bad Lieutenant.  The instrumental Jim Sullivan is perfectly played and has a dreamy sound. When you hear Back Down, you will want to get up and dance. Help Us All has a smooth and stunning sound. The guitar in Take a Trip had me dancing from beginning to end.

Same Old Feeling has a soothing rock and jazz sound to it.  Nothing All of the Time is both upbeat but relaxed. The background vocals, guitar solo and slow drumbeats are what make this song so wonderful. Darryl & Dwight is soulful and has a rock and jazzy sound. Where I Can Roam starts out with a slow rhythm, leading the audience to think the album is nearly over; however, the rhythm starts to increase, bringing everyone back to the dance floor in The Bridge City Turnaround. Plastic Man is a fun song to dance to and it has a soft tempo. Giving It Up (For My Baby), I Get By and Where I Can Roam (Reprise) sound as though they are one song. The way one song runs onto the next makes it hard to determine where one song ends and the other begin.

Although Future Nostalgia”has amazing songs, what stood out to me was that some of the songs seem to run into one another. It’s as though they were all one song and that can be confusing to the audience.

Final Grade: B

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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