True Nature couldn’t have picked a more appropriate title for its new EP, even if the group — led by Lou Barlow — doesn’t start off taking its own advice.
The opening title track, in fact, rattles along with a heartfelt fury, before settling into a ruminative finale that hints at something deeper than its initial college-rock radio groove. “Only Love” stirs in a few mid-period U2 atmospherics, to good effect. But with “One Soul,” You Shouldn’t Have to Shout So Loud makes good on the latent promise of the EP’s best moments so far — that is to say, its quieter moments.
When Barlow — who studied theory and composition at New York University — moves into these trembly emotional places, he reveals something far more personal, something unique, about his songcraft. “My Freedom” splits the difference, allowing Barlow to explore a ruminative lyric amid a more aggressive, mid-tempo cadence. You’re hearing someone find his voice with every passing verse.
Joined in the studio here by an all-star cast including drummer Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors), guitarist Gerry Leonard (David Bowie) and bassist Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, King Crimson), Barlow closes this new EP with “New Father,” a striking bearing of his soul — and one that underscores not only what makes You Shouldn’t Have to Shout So Loud work, but everything that should make Barlow a breakout star one day.
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