Alex Woodard
Alex Woodard
Adrenaline/Woodshack
It’s always gratifying when an indie artist gets a shot at the big time, and for Alex Woodard, it looks like his chance has finally come.
Alex Woodard is the San Diego-based singer-songwriter’s first debut record for a major label, but he already has four excellent, independently-released albums under his belt, and each one has slowly but surely been evolving his sound toward the Americana country-rock evident on his first release for Adrenaline, a division of Warner.
Rocking opener “Older” occupies similar territory as Bon Jovi’s “Lost Highway” – but that’s a compliment to Woodard’s ear for a winning melody line rather than an accusation of plagiarism – while his duet with Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins in “Reno” makes for another song that indicates the strength of his writing skills.
The heartfelt “The Table” is another superb track, the poignant “No More Time To Waste” ends the album in fine mellow style and “Halfway” is another typically melodic rocker.
The album also contains several nods to Woodard’s back catalogue, with first single “Beautiful Now” being a reworking of an older track (“I Saw You Here,)” while “Billie Holiday” and album standout “Photograph” also date back to his early releases.
Alex Woodard is a polished, well written and produced record which deserves to catapult Woodard’s career to the next stage. Here’s hoping Woodard’s decision to quit finance for a music career a decade ago finally pays off.
