In a world where country music has deviated so much from its roots, it only makes sense that producing something with a more traditional sound feels new and original. Bluesy and soulful, Thomas Stajcer’s new album Will I Learn To Love Again? feels like coming home.
The album is home to some slower ballads, including its opener, “Love Me Now (Or Never Again).” Stajcer’s drawling voice is perfect at pulling the emotion out of each syllable in these songs. However, it doesn’t take long for things to kick up a notch. “In The Long Run” boasts frantic banjo and a steady rhythm that will make you want to dance.
Stajcer’s vocal range is an impressive feat on this album. He’s definitely at home down in the trenches of those deep, rumbling notes, but songs like “Wildfires” show that he’s able to reach heart-wrenching heights as well. What makes this song even more of a standout is the songwriting presence of Canadian favourite Joel Plaskett. It’s one of two songs Plaskett co-wrote on the record, the other being the opening track. It’s an impressive collaboration for any debut album, but Stajcer himself keeps the momentum going on every other personally crafted track.
The title track is a culmination of every song on the album, all of which have been, in some way, trying to answer the titular question: will he learn to love again? The opening line “Could someone new teach me to dance away the rain?” explains the ups and downs of the mood on this album. The track is reflective and melancholy, and might make for a perfect closer.
But it doesn’t.
Instead,”How Long Could I Wait?” ends the album ends on a sudden shift into blues-rock territory. With its steady, thrumming riffs, wailing harmonica and dynamic vocals, the tone shift is enough to give anyone whiplash, and maybe that’s the point. It’s the perfect climax: thrilling and satisfying but ultimately leaving you wanting more.