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Keaton Simons
Can You Hear Me
Review By Andy Argyrakis
As the newest signee to the recently resurrected CBS Records, singer-songwriter Keaton Simons is swinging for the fences with his blend of southern soul, blues and good old fashioned rock ’n’ roll. Shades of Lenny Kravitz, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and even Elvis Costello show up in the songwriting department, and the relative newcomer is already earning a slew of opening act slots. Thus far, the tunesmith’s opened for Coldplay, Chris Isaak, Gnarls Barkley, Five For Fighting and Josh Kelley, (co-writing three cuts for the latter’s upcoming album).
But on Can You Hear Me, Simons takes center spotlight under the helm of producer Dave Bianco (Zach de la Rocha, The Black Crowes, Mick Jagger), who provides a slightly understated touch to aptly frame classic songwriting sensibilities with gloriously gritty vocals. “Nobody Knows” is an example of dirty guitars crunching over barroom percussion and meaty howls while simultaneously possessing a karaoke-worthy chorus (minus the cheesiness). “Without Your Skin” and “To Me” are less celebratory in execution, but reveal an up close and personal side of Simons where he explores a series of love struck circumstances amidst lean rhythms.
The fairly straightforward message of “Good Things Get Better” is one of the disc’s most trite tunes, but even amidst the commonplace clichés, the troubadour’s unique pipes are undeniable. He’s much better off diving deep into the blues throughout the choppy guitar grinder “Misfits,” while faithfully demonstrating an even older schooled jazz appeal throughout “Currently.” Though the sounds packed within Can You Hear Me aren’t exactly capitalizing on any flavors of today, they’re worth paying attention to, if only for this skilled star’s triple performance threat and mostly tasteful implementation.
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