UNSIGNED SPOTLIGHT – Never Shout Never – The Yippee Ep


Band: Never Shout Never
Album: The Yippee EP
Genre: Acoustic/Pop
Label: Unsigned

Tracks:
1. Heregoesnothin
2. Bigcitydreams
3. Smelyalata
4. Dar4distance

It has been quite awhile since a boy with a guitar and his computer has blown me out of the water. This is not saying that many haven’t tried to, but with the rise of Myspace and Garage Band coming installed on all Macs, we at UTG are constantly approached by people who think they’re the next Chris Carabba. What these self proclaimed musical geniuses usually turn out to be is a waste of four minutes and that is due not only to bad recording, but poorly constructed songs filled with dull lyrics meant to show how deep they are. However, I recently became introduced to Never Shout Never, the acoustic project of Christofer Drew, and it was as if the clouds parted and revealed a heavenly choir come to drown out the faceless hordes of unsigned talent. Drew has become a sort of online sensation as of late, garnering around 30,000 plays a day on his Myspace and all without heavy touring or a label behind him. Due to heavy fan demand, Christofer Drew is releasing, The Yippee EP on July 29 with four recordings that are poised to become permanent fixtures on thousands, if not millions of people’s music collections around the world.

“Heregoesnothin,” kicks things into high gear instantly with a Drew taking advantage of a digital drum pad to accompany him and his guitar as he rolls out a sound that instantly causes one to start moving along to the beat. his voice, filled with youth and excitement, comes through the speakers like that of a pop sensation with just the right amount of confidence and innocence to turn your sister, wife, girlfriend, and especially daughter to liquid. I’m not saying this is track or disc for females solely as I haven’t been able to stop playing the album since I received and before that I was constantly visiting the NSN myspace wondering how long it would take before the world caught on to this new sensation. Back to the track however, no performer could ever ask to have a better lead track than what this 17yr. old boy has created and he’s not even signed. Following up this track is a more laid back love song entitled, “Bigcitydreams,” The track opens with a line about how Drew will one day grow up to wear a suit like his father, but if he continues to construct songs like this, that day may not come for a very long time. A beautiful piano line mixed with tambourine and guitar sinks under your skin while he vocals take you away to a warm summer day in a field with the one you love. The song is gorgeous, simple, and sure to become the song many teens share with their “secret” crushes.

For the back half of the EP, Christofer Drew opts to stay mellow with the tempo and uses some heavy layered vocals to introduce us to, “Smelyalata,” the most intriguingly designed track on the album. From what feels like a 1960’s folk pop introduction, to a new millennium dance pop before turning straight forward into the modern acoustic genre briefly then deeper into the dance pop feel once more before going back to the original classic sound. Seriously, in just over two and half minutes Christofer Drew taps into nearly every genre we at UTG crave and all without making things feel rushed or forced. His talent for blending time periods both lyrically and musically shines through heavily and takes him from a teenager to a new force to be reckoned with on the music scene and that’s all before we reach the closing track. The closer, “Dare4distance,” brings us the classic tale of distance, love, and the stress you find in situations involving both those topics. I know this feels repetitive to keep gushing over these tracks, but once again Drew hits all the right notes and wraps our 15 minutes together in a fashion that repeatedly leaves you feverishly searching your itunes in hopes there’s more to hear from Never Shout Never.

I don’t think there’s much need to recap what’s been discussed about Christofer Drew and his solo project Never Shout Never. The Yippee EP is obviously the tip of the ice berg in terms of what he is capable of producing and if that’s the case, we all need to tune in now because this boy is destined for the stars. Just watch, on July 29th Never Shout Never will release this gem of an EP and by July 30th you’ll be hearing rumbles about some new acoustic act and this time next year you won’t be able to escape him. Buy this album, heck, pre-order it, you won’t be sorry in the least. In fact, The Yippee EP is quite possibly the best acoustic ep you will hear in 2008.

*Written By: James Shotwell*
GRADE: 9.5/10

James Shotwell
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