Under The Gun Review is thrilled to be joining forces with Black Numbers to premiere the debut album from Sad And French, which just so happens to arrive in stores today!

Every now and then a band comes along that catches you completely off guard and makes you feel like the wind has been stolen from your lungs. There you are, minding your own business with headphones on and the day’s second cup of coffee in hand, then out of nowhere a sound comes pouring through the speakers nestled so tightly around your ears and it feels as if you’ve stumbled across some lost conversation with your closest friend. In an instant you feel all the thoughts and emotions you’ve buried under the day’s to-do list come bubbling to the surface, refusing to turn away until you allow them to wash over you with all the rage, fear, and sadness you have kept at bay. Part of you is upset, but only because you thought you were strong enough to hold everything in. Now that it’s out and it’s being shared between you, the sound ringing in your ears, and the coffee that has now begun to go cold, the big ball of emotions no longer seems as intimidating as it once did. You were never alone, but it took hearing someone else’s pain to realize it, and now that you have, the world is yours to conquer (if only you can stop crying about that shitty relationship that you should have gotten over years ago).

This month, the band most likely to have that kind of life-altering impact on you out of the blue is none other than Sad And French. It’s a folk-laden project from the minds of Jose Prieto, Edwin Santacruz and Greg Taylor. They write songs about girls and booze. The funny thing about girls and booze is that they both cause and solve a lot of problems. Like when things are going great with a girl until you start drinking. Or when things are going great with a drink until a girl walks in. Or when everything is going great until a drink goes in your face and a girl walks out. And then it stops being funny and you start writing songs.

I don’t know what I expected when the debut album from Sad And French arrived in my inbox, but as soon as “Against The Rules” kicked in I had to stop everything I was doing outside of listening to their music because nothing else could hold my attention for more than a few seconds. The passion in every chord and lyric is infectious, and even if you cannot relate directly to the subject matter being discussed there is something about the feelings and thoughts being conveyed that find a universal meaning to anyone who has ever felt like a lovelorn lost soul.

There have been a lot of great albums released thus far in 2014, and any one of them has the ability to potentially change your life or world views. If you have time for only one, however, I recommend making it this record from Sad And French. There is a lot of heartache to be found on this album, yes, but there is also a lot of hope to be found as well. Whether you’re longing after someone you can never have or regretting letting ‘the one’ slip through your fingers, there is something here that will hit you like a gut punch from Floyd Mayweather. Brace yourselves and, if you know what is good for you, click ‘play’ on the streaming widget below.

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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