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Tyler Braden – ‘Neon Grave’ EP review

With just over a dozen official track releases, Warner Music Nashville artist Tyler Braden has already accumulated nearly 200 million global streams. The fast-rising country rocker is adding to his repertoire with his new EP ‘Neon Grave.’ The six-track project, produced by Randy Montana, features 5 songs and two versions of the pivotal ballad, ‘Try Losing One’

UK fans can get a chance to see Tyler Braden in March as he will be appearing as part of the ‘Introducing Nashville’ line up at the C2C festival in London, Dublin and Glasgow.

Speaking on the EP, Braden says, “Ever since I knew how to strum a couple chords on a guitar, rock music has been a huge influence on my style,” Braden said. “I think ‘Neon Grave’ really kicks it up a notch. This project has that important, underlying thread of country storytelling but channels the kind of energy that fans feel during my live shows. I’m excited for everyone to hear and experience the direction that we’re headed in!”

The crux of the matter is addressed directly by Braden himself in that quote when he says, ‘…the direction we are headed in’. ‘Neon Grave’ is a terrific pointer to what future could be ahead for this powerful artist. For someone still at the relative beginning of his career, this EP is a polished and passionate piece of work in many places.

The EP opens with the title track which should go on to be Braden’s signature song. ‘Neon Grave’ has swampy, southern beginnings and then Braden’s gravely vocals kick in on a song about what he wants if he is not able to get into heaven. It breaks out in the second verse, resembling a sort of ‘God’s Country’ meets Brantley Gilbert-esque portentous, mid-tempo anthem that will work well in both bars and arenas.

Power is in evidence in other songs on ‘Neon Grave’ too. ‘Try Losing One’ is a huge, bombastic piano ballad featuring Sydney Sierota of Echosmith. This is a belter of a song that showcases the vocal talents of both singers. Braden’s muscle is perfectly inline with Sierota’s delicate, breathy vocals as they both build up stirring crescendos in the song’s final third whilst ‘Middle Man”s power is in the meaning and impact of its lyrics. ‘Middle Man’ is a lush sounding ballad with more than a hint of Brett Young to it. (more about that below) Braden sings about loss and the bonds of love that endure after the death of a loved one. It’s a meaningful and impactful look at the ones left behind and it showcases a maturity not often found on these type of early-career projects.

Where ‘Neon Grave’ undertakes a paradigm shift is on ‘Wrong Right Now’ and ‘Choose Me’. Neither of these songs are weak, in fact the production values and slick, FM radio vibes of both are laudable and make each song easy to listen to but after the power and muscle of tracks like ‘Neon Grave’, it feels like a little bit of a left turn into poppy, Brett Young style territory. On ‘Wrong Right Now’ Braden sings about slow dances and long kisses whilst on ‘Choose Me’ there’s an even lighter, almost Niko Moon-eque playfulness in evidence that is quite hard to reconcile with the gruff, southern punch of the title track. Both songs could be radio singles but both songs lack the individuality or depth of ‘Neon Grave’, ‘Try Losing One’ and ‘Middle Man’.

‘Neon Grave’ is a powerful introduction to Tyler Braden, which is what debut EP’s should be. Songs like the title track and ‘Try Losing One’ are dripping in passion and power and give Braden the chance to stretch his vocal talents in a commanding and formidable way. There’s a little Jekyll and Hyde going on here that means the lighter, poppier songs don’t sound as personal or as original as they could, even though there is nothing actually wrong with them. Braden will need to address this as an artist going forward. Which kind of artist does he see himself as? Harder-edged, gruff, guitar leaning or more of a commercial sounding, lighter kind of dude? It’ll be interesting to see which side of the fence he comes down on.

Tyler Braden
Credit: Warner Music Nashville

Tracklist: 1. Neon Grave 2. Try Losing One (ft. Sydney Sierota) 3. Wrong Right Now 4. Choose Me 5. Middle Man 6. Try Losing One Record Label: Warner Music Nashville Release Date: March 3rd Buy ‘Neon Grave’ now.

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With just over a dozen official track releases, Warner Music Nashville artist Tyler Braden has already accumulated nearly 200 million global streams. The fast-rising country rocker is adding to his repertoire with his new EP 'Neon Grave.' The six-track project, produced by Randy Montana, features 5...Tyler Braden - 'Neon Grave' EP review