Alex Volz lays claim to the mantle of “rock star”
Dale Carnegie famously said that a person’s name is the sweetest sound to that person in any language. My high school disciplinary record would suggest otherwise but I will posit a corollary to that; the confirmation of a subjective opinion is a supremely satisfying experience. So what’s got me feeling mildly smug and back-patty today? Alex Volz, aka Burly Temple.
I’ve written a good deal about Alex, almost exclusively about his songs for children and as time has passed and I’ve seen and heard his work reviewed by others, certain observations have become nearly universal when assessing the big guy’s talent and approach to music.
He doesn’t “talk down” to kids, treating them instead like mini-adults with curious minds. He doesn’t dumb down his subject matter, choosing to tackle head-on all manner of topics of interest to kids and some discomfort to adults. His wordplay is second to none, clever and multi-faceted. He’s funny and entertaining.
Again, this is in reference to his work on children’s music, but one of the most durable observations regarding Alex is that his work could just as easily translate to any other genre. He isn’t “wasting time” as a writer of kid’s music, to the contrary he is a much needed talent in a genre otherwise composed of treacle and fluff, but he his formidable skill would be equally well spent on virtually any kind of music and with the release of his (or rather Burly Temple’s) latest album has proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Alex/Burly, children’s musician, political commentator, has now definitively taken up the mantle of rock musician with The State I’m In, a ten song compendium of beautifully produced tunes for grown-ups, currently available on Spotify and elsewhere.
Once again the listener is treated to a level of uncommon lyrical sophistication that, while thoroughly enjoyable in a casual listening environment, always seems to hide deeper levels of meaning for anyone who care to listen a little more carefully.
The guy could put down the guitar, pick up a typewriter, and be just as phenomenal and refreshing a writer as a musician.
Tracks like “Cold Beers,” “I’d Rather Be Drunk with You,” and certain others speak to some universally adult themes, without ever being crude, callous or shallow and the instrumentation and production…put simply, this is rock and roll in the Springsteen sense of the word, gritty and gutsy, full of hooks and the kind of gritty raw power that made The Boss a legend.
Released under his Burly Temple persona, the album is less a fledgling attempt at a rock album and more a pleasant surprise from a guy who was apparently a rock star the whole time.
It is a triumphant vindication for those of us who have believe all along that Alex can do anything he wants an be fantastic at anything he does and the ultimate post-script is that having conquered this genre in one fell-swoop, he has announced his plans for an upcoming rap album that I have no doubt will be one of the most entertaining of the year.
The fact is that at the end of the day Alex Volz is a musician’s musician, the kind of rare talent than can move seamlessly and with ease from one genre to the next, turning whatever he touches in to gold.
Need proof of that? Check out The State I’m In and hear for yourself that “that guy who does kid’s songs” is just as adept at writing for kids of all ages.