Album Review: One Way North - To Light

There's a constant in music that when a particular sound gets to be popular, whether by intent or happenstance, a lot of bands that sounds similar start to come out of the woodwork. That is shockingly true of singers, as certain times have sounds that carry over across the landscape. Listen to 60s rock, and there are plenty of singers who sound a lot like Lennon and McCartney. In the 80s, a lot of hair metal singers all sounded the same. In the 90s, it was the Eddie Vedder effect. And recently, I've come across two examples of bands that share a lot in common with Mark Tremonti's solo work.

Last year, that came in the form of Any Given Day, who put out an album that was half metalcore, and half pure Tremonti-sounding hard rock. The hooks and the vocals were unmistakable, and it wound up being one of my favorite records of the year. The same thing seems to be happening again.

The easiest way for me to describe One Way North is to have you imagine Tremonti's solo work, and tilt the balance so it's far more rock than metal. Do that, and you'll come up with a good idea of what One Way North is doing on this album, except for one caveat; they're doing it better than Tremonti. Yes, the weird thing about what I've noticed isn't just these bands that sound remarkably like Tremonti, but that I like them more than the reference point. I don't know why, exactly, but I've never been too keen on his voice, but I've taken to these very similar ones.

But comparisons and similarities are only the jumping off point. None of that would be worth mentioning if the album didn't deliver great songs. One Way North certainly do that. Their music is heavy, but flush with hooks and choruses that rise up and celebrate the good things in modern rock. Many of these songs are rousing affairs that make you pump your fist, nod your head, and sing to yourself. "Bent Not Broken" and "Myself Again" are some of the best rock songs I've heard this year, and they are far more deserving of sitting on the mainstream rock charts than many of the songs that have been 'hits' in the first half of 2020. Yes, these songs are better than Green Day's "Oh Father", Godsmack's "Unforgettable", and a slew of others. If One Way North was on the radio, I might actually listen to it.

One Way North is delivering everything I like in modern rock, and it's beyond impressive for a new and independent band to put out a record that sounds this good. Hell, I get albums from labels every week that can't touch this one. Suffice it to say, this is one of the gems that gets turned up when you look under enough rocks. But for the sake of honesty, I will say one thing on the other side of the ledger. The cover of Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved" is good, and an interesting take on the pop song, but I could easily do without it. There's enough original songs here, and they're damn good enough, to leave that on the cutting room floor.

It was luck by which I came across "To Light", but boy am I glad I did. It's a great rock record, and I've listened to it enough these last couple of weeks to know it's a solid contender to be one of the best albums come the end of the year. Go give it a chance.