Meyer.
There’s a flourish from a fuzzed out organ, then a bouncing drum machine with a bass and guitar playing catch with the song’s garments. The vocal slithers in: “Girl while we’re still young, let’s make it a good time,” the singers sings. “Girl let’s have some fun, let’s live up the good life / I can’t tell you just what to do / Just got a feeling like we could fly to the moon.”
Then the organ returns to strut through the chorus. “Let’s make it a good time,” the singer says, and the instruments oblige.
“Let’s Make It a Good Time” is the opening song from All Up in Flames, the latest album from The Soldier Story, a band that is the studio creation of New Haven-based musician Colin Meyer. And damned if the multi-instrumentalist doesn’t make an album that crackles with the live energy of a full band to make an album that is, in a word, fun. A lot of fun. If the first song on the album is a request, the rest of All Up in Flames honors it, and then some.
The second song, “Fire,” details a woman in control: “Alright, she’s got a megaphone in her hand,” Meyer sings “Black boots on the street / She’s got traction, she’s got friction, she’s bringing the heat.” The driving beat and guitar lines that light a musical match that sets sparks for a truly hooky chorus, enabled by big breaks from guitar and drums that feel club ready. “Fire, fire,” Meyer sings. “Girl we’re gonna set it on … fire, fire.”
It’s all as smart as it is propulsive. “Mountains” might take the tempo down, but the energy stays the same. You can imagine it being a pretty good stadium rocker of the kind we don’t see much of any more. “Bring Down the Money” serves up a slice of minimalist funkiness that lays out for a mellow chorus that makes the freedom it talks about feel like a breeze. “Fever” skips in on a rockabilly swing that makes a lie of Meyer’s insistence that “we got to take it slow”; the music makes all too clear that it’s far too late for that.
Meyer even finds time for romance. On “Forever Mine,” the album’s closer, Meyer asks just the right question — “Oh baby won’t you be my valentine? / Won’t you be my forever mine?” — with music so ebullient that you can’t help but root for the object of his affection to say yes.
And then there’s “Take It From Me,” which finds Meyer in full R&B mode, to glorious. Over a sparse yet huge beat, Meyer keeps it mellow and spacious while seemingly never doing the same thing twice on the guitar. It keeps the feet moving and the ears waiting for the next surprise. “Take It from me,” Meyer sings. “I’ll be by your side / Take it from me / I’ll be worth your time.” From front to back, All Up in Flames is worth every minute.
To sample and purchase All Up in Flames, visit The Soldier Story on Bandcamp.