Album Review - "Winds Will Change" EP by William Beckett

William Beckett's newest solo endeavor, Winds Will Change, lives up to its name. If the winds will change, they're doing just that and taking Beckett in a completely different direction than expected. Leaving behind the pop punk tunes of The Academy Is.. , which he was the former front man for, he's proving that he's more than the pretty face to front a band. We knew that, if every youtube video and cover he's posted online wasn't proof enough, Winds Will Change is the certified stamp.

"Great Night" is one I heard live a little while back when he came through Atlanta, and the album version of it actually sounds a lot like the live version. It's the song played at your favorite bar that everyone sings along to and yet it's more than that. It's deeper than just a drinking song, deeper than a song about a night out. It's the drinking song for the educated music aficionado. (Not everyone thinks "Red Solo Cup" is an anthem.)

But it's not all fun songs that sound like something almost Beatles-esque, recorded over a live bar sound. "Warriors" is almost hard, especially coming from Beckett and that stretch to something else makes it all the more fantastic. The alt rock kid in my loves it, and really got into the heavy bass and guitars lines and the overall 'take no prisoners' feel is intoxicating. But it's different. It's not a song I would have expected to hear on this EP and while that thought is jarring? It doesn't matter. Not when the song is that good.

Something closer to what one might expect from Beckett is "Scarlett (Tokyo)" and in my mind it's the closest to that pop punk sound, but it's more just influenced by those roots rather than pandering to a genre. Alternating between a higher pitched, peppy guitar line to an earthy, dreamy feeling, it's hard not to get lost in the music, to find yourself swaying slightly and daydreaming with it.

My favorite track is the anthem of the EP, and where the title comes from. "Dig a Hole" isn't about getting stuck in a rut. It's about getting out of it. About starting something new and embracing it. "I know the winds will change / And together we'll become the rain."

Beckett has found his own voice, really found it, and has created a ripple in a still lake with these new tunes. As much as I loved Walk the Talk, it was far more rooted in what he'd done before, but Winds Will Change is not that. It's just Beckett, leaving it all behind. The winds might change, and they might be blowing away the old, but Beckett stands strong and weathers the storm with something even better than before waiting.

Pick up the EP on iTunes today! And enjoy!

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