Spiritually driven music usually sounds pleasant to the ear as well as radio-friendly. Alex Von Z, an American musician from Colorado who sings in tenor as well as plays an acoustic guitar says he's inspired by artists such as Chris Cornell, Tom Petty, Blind Melon and Counting Crows. You will undoubtedly hear these influences in both the song arrangements and vocals.
"Drawn" carries with it a blues vibe, but also features songwriting ideas that are characteristic for both rock and pop genres. The arrangements are simple although very solid with a dreamy mid-tempo time signature that is supported by light rhythms. Not only are the choruses memorable, but the verses are very catchy as well. This is not a song which demands a lot of mental concentration or analysis to understand the message, however nobody is screaming, destroying instruments or causing noisy experimental sounds. On the contrary, this acoustic composition brings soothing, positive moods to your ears from the very beginning to the end of the track. Having said that, if "Drawn" were to be performed by a female singer it would sound as good as the vocals recorded by Alex. Perhaps a male and female duo would sound extremely well on a live version of "Drawn" or should at least be kept in mind and utilized on a new composition with this sort of dynamic and vivaciousness on a future release.
There is also a promotional video for "Drawn" available on YouTube. The video features interesting paintings by Laurie Maves and Joanna Whitney because the lyrics of "Drawn" tell a tale of a woman painting a picture of a man. "I can’t change the way I am / So I’ll just love the way I am drawn / That’s how she’s drawn" followed by "It’s just the way she loves to play, helps to pass the time along / She’s a muse that can amuse remind its perfect how we’re drawn". The focal point of the video illustrates a message of self-affirmation to "be yourself and love yourself". Otherwise, it could be an analogy of how a woman in love portrays a man in her mind, but also that he doesn't want to change himself (for her), so he just accepts her observations (to avoid hurting her notions and losing her feelings).
Implicate Order was released in November 2012, so this is a pretty fresh EP which lists 3 songs including "Drawn" along with a full length radio edit version on the tracklist. Each song is available for free download from the artist's website and social media profiles such as Reverbnation at the moment.
Finally, as a word of advice, Alex should consider submitting this song for radio-airplay opportunities as often as possible. Due to its pop-rock styling, "Drawn" has probable worldwide hit potential.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, Fabryka Music Magazine, December 26th, 2012)
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Reviewed by Fabryka Music Magazine