Album Review: Echo by ECHO

All a cappella roads appear to lead back to Geoff Castellucci.

I say this because it seems like a bunch of the a cappella artists that I've come to love have had something to do with him. Those of you who know the story of how I became such a fan of a cappella music know that it all began with a medley. A medley that was performed by Home Free. A medley that I would later learn was arranged by Geoff and his arranging and rhythm producing partner in crime, Layne Stein. A medley that sparked my love for Home Free which in turn led me to VoicePlay. If you've spent any time on here over the past couple of years, you are well aware that I am a full-fledged VoicePlayaholic. It was through Geoff that I learned about ECHO earlier this year. Geoff Castellucci, the Obi-Wan Kenobi of a cappella music, y'all.

It is here that I feel obliged to offer a word of warning for anyone who may dare to keep reading past this point.  If you choose to proceed, you must do so with the utmost caution. Believe me when I say that once you experience the magic of a cappella music, you will never be the same. I'm serious.

Those of you who know me know that country music has always held a special place in my heart and I would say that I know way more about it than any other genre. It's long been my favorite kind of music. That said, I seemed to have been born with an appreciation and love for music in general. If you were to look through my iPod, you would see several genres represented. I'm more likely to listen to one of my playlists on shuffle than to listen to an album all the way through. I like the contrast. 

That's one of the many things that appeals to me about a cappella music. The groups tend to pull from a variety of influences and sounds. The best ones don't do covers that are identical to the originals; they find some way to change it up. The nature of a cappella also cuts out so much of the unnecessary noise that often clutters "regular" kinds of music. Stripping away the instruments has a way of creating more of a connection between a group and their audience. It's so wonderfully human.

I still love music that combines singers and instruments. I love instrumental music, as well. But a cappella hits me on a level that the other kinds of music can't. Not even my beloved country music. As such, I find myself listening to more a cappella all the time. 

Aca-addiction is a real thing, my friends. 

A wonderfully delightful thing, mind; one that leads to increased happiness and musicality. Incidentally, this makes it a powerful ally in the fight against things like chronic illness, depression and anxiety. Trust me; I speak from personal experience. I struggle with all of the above and there's been times when a cappella music is what helps me keep it all together. It's a powerful thing. Especially when you factor in how cool other a cappella fans can be. 

So, if that appeals to you, you may proceed with the knowledge that your life is about to get a little more awesome. Don't say I didn't warn you.

We'll start with the basics. ECHO is: E.J. Cardona (tenor), Dan Reynolds (tenor), Antonio Fernandez (bass/vocal percussion), Deejay Young (tenor), Bryce Larsen (bass/baritone/vocal percussion...oh my) and Erik Winger (tenor/baritone). Those of you who have been lucky enough to get to a recent VoicePlay show may have seen Erik filling in for Tony. I know that Antonio and Deejay have filled in for them too. Not sure about the other three, though it wouldn't surprise me if any of them had at some point as well. In saying that, I feel like if you like VoicePlay, than you'll probably like these guys as well. And vice versa.

Does that mean the sound the same? Definitely not. They each have their own sound and there's no way you could confuse the two. Some things they have in common though? Everyone in both groups is a talented artist in their own right, which makes the overall group that much stronger. Both have incredible arrangements for their songs. And they're all kind of ridiculously affable. I love what I hear when I listen to them, but from what I've seen, they all seem like they'd be cool guys to hang out and have fun with.

Now, I don't necessarily need to like the members of a group to enjoy their music, but it's always so much better when I do. This is the kind of thing that can make an artist a favorite instead of just another person/group to listen to, if you get what I'm saying. It just adds something extra.

On that note, one of my new missions in life is to see ECHO live. Because from the snippets that I've seen from the promos on their website (linked below), their shows are incredibly dynamic and fun. They released their self-titled album earlier this year and y'all. The energy on this album is insane. It hits you right from the very beginning.

This album in a word? Alive. It's like a living, breathing thing and that makes it pretty unique, in my opinion. Just considering that there's very few albums I own that I can say that about. Off the top of my head, the only other one I can think of is Eric Church's Caught In the Act: Live which, as you may have guessed, is a live album. 

Think about that for a second.

With a live album, you get the noise and energy from the crowd that the artist, Eric in this case, thrives on. What makes listening to that album so great for me is that it magically gives me the same feeling that seeing him live does. Listening to it takes me right back to how it felt at any of his shows that I've been to. The fact that another album can give me that same kind of feeling is pretty extraordinary to me. A studio album, no less. Did I mention that I want to see these guys live someday? Because I do. I really, really do. 

How about a quick (er, quick-ish) run-through of the tracks? 

"My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark". Perfect way to start. The best albums are always the ones that capture your ear right away like this one does. This is going to sound insane, but the beginning is like a musical version of a meteor. Just the way it starts and especially when that beat kicks in. This song has an almost hypnotic kind of pulse to it. 

"Take Back the Night". Fact: it's very hard to keep my hands still when I listen to this album. That's another weird side effect of getting into a cappella music, by the way. So many of them are very expressive with their hands when they sing; it's like their hands dance along to the music. Watch and/or listen to these groups enough and don't be surprised if you pick it up yourself. This is fine most of the time. Fun, even. Some songs do it more than others, like this one. Not exactly helpful when typing though. It's also a good way to get funny looks from others. Ahem. 

"I Can't Make You Love Me". This is one of those songs that I wish I could've written. I love the lyrics. When I first saw this on the track listing, I thought it was an interesting choice. ECHO is such a high energy group that I was curious to see how they handled an emotional lyric. Can they pull it off? Yes. Yes, they can. Very well, at that. It's a great lead vocal and there's some beautiful harmonies going on too. 

"I Put a Spell on You". Ah, my introduction to these guys. I remember watching this for the first time and thinking how fitting it was that this would be my introduction. Because I think they really did put some sort of spell on me. E.J. Y'all. That man's voice practically sparks with electricity and I love it. What a great song to show it off. This one's a favorite. I actually wrote a video spotlight for their video for it back in August as part of my Disney month. You can find that  here. 

"Africa". Bit of a different feel to this one and it's one I like. One of the reasons why ECHO works so well as a group is that their voices all have different textures to them. I think this track is the best example of that. It makes hearing them all together more interesting. I think the contrast between them opens them up to more styles of music than most groups. It seems like I like this one more with each listen. ike there's always something new I missed on an earlier listen. 

"Don't Look Down". This is one of those songs that's hard to write about since I tend to end up having a dance party instead. But, as I've pointed out in the past, it's a good way to squeeze in some cardio. I call that a win. I love the way this one feels. It just gets me going. 

"Sailing". One of the best songs on the album to showcase their harmonies. ECHO's one of those vocal groups who can hit you with a beautiful wall of sound and I always like that. Arguably their best group vocal on the album. 

"Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'". I really like the way they laid out the songs; it gives the album a nice flow. Listen to this and try not to sway along. I dare you. There's something quite infectious about this one, but in a somewhat more low key way. It's more of a groove, if you follow. I especially like the na-na-na-na-nas. File that under sentences I never imagined I'd ever write. 

"Want to Want Me". I don't know what it is about this one, but I keep finding myself focusing in on the rhythm. The rhythm section is such an important aspect of a cappella music - all music, really. That's the foundation everything else builds from. If the bass and percussion aren't synced right, nothing else works. In their case, that would be Antonio and Bryce who I daresay may have to be added to my favorite rhythm sections. There's some cool things going on down there. Just a good track, all the way around. Bit of a mashup at the end that makes me smile.

"Without You". I love this track. I love the arrangement; this one's a bit of a mashup too and I love the way they do it. I'm such a sucker for these kind of things. If there's one song I'm more likely to start singing along with, it's this one. Except for the riffs; those are best left to the professionals. Then there's one note in particular that Deejay hits near the end that's a jaw dropper. There's something very acrobatic about his voice. That note and the riff that follows sounds so effortless. I think this track is the perfect end to the album. 

You finish out this album somehow feeling exhilarated, or at least I do. Exhilarated and maybe even a little exhausted because it's such an energetic experience. You know, I started writing this novel of a post in a hospital waiting room on Wednesday while my mom was having a procedure done that thankfully went well. The staff and nurses were all great, but I always feel weird when I'm in a hospital. An unpleasant kind of weird. It's not great for the anxiety.

I started writing this both to help distract myself and also because I was a bit, shall we say, urged on to do so. I must have listened to this about four times and you know what? It made that experience so much easier on me. I would keep catching myself starting to groove along, but trying not to because of all the other people around. But it helped me burn off some of that restless energy. Focusing on the music kept me from worrying about what was happening. Listening to this album lifts me up and puts me in a better frame of mind.

My hope is that reading this has made you want to check out the album. I liked them before I started working on this and now I think I can safely say that I've come to love them. This is the power of great music at work. It makes everything better. The album is great. ECHO is great and I'd love to see them become more well known. 

As such, I've decided to dedicate the next couple of posts to them. First, there'll be a song review of their cover of "Wait for It" from Hamilton mixed with a couple of other things. Then, there'll be a video spotlight on their "Home for the Holidays" video which is a beautiful Christmas medley. 

Because why write about one thing when you can write about all of them? Or something to that effect.

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