Rixton album review

On March 3, English pop and R&B band Rixton released their debut album entitled Let the Road.  

The album has 10 songs, three of which were released as singles. The album doesn’t feature any other artists, aside from the band, and the album itself was predominantly co-written and produced by Benny Blanco, an American rapper, musician, songwriter and record producer. There’s also three new original songs appearing on the album: “Let the Road,” “Beautiful Excuses” and “Speakerphone.”

The song “Let the Road” has no instrumentation accompaniment. The song talks about when aspects of life become challenging or difficult, there’s always a road that can lead back home. The song’s message gives reassurance that there’s a place for everyone to call home. Since the song is completely vocal, it has a different tone and feeling to the rest of the album, which is completely vocal and instrumentally-oriented. In all, the song has an excellent message, that there’s always a path that leads back home, and an extraordinary rhythm to it.

“Hotel Ceiling” addresses a lost loved one from the point of view of his or her lover, who is left “staring at the hotel ceiling…tryna’ hold on to this sweetest feeling.” The song’s lonesome tone works well to evoke sympathy in listeners and the lyrics are heartfelt and genuine.

Let the Road was preceded by the release of the UK number-one hit single “Me and My Broken Heart,” as well as the second international single, “Wait on Me.” “Me and My Broken Heart” incorporates parts of Matchbox Twenty leader singer Rob Thomas’ 2005 grammy-nominated song “Lonely No More.” The song was released as the lead single for the album.

Let the Road brings together different elements to create an interesting album. Although only three new songs have been added to Rixton’s repertoire, it’s still a well-written album. Overall, the album has a unique tone because of the high quality of each song. An interesting rhythm coupled with excellent lyrics ties everything together.