“What if the cure for cancer is trapped inside the head of someone who can’t afford an education?”
Think about that for a bit…
Now, with that little (slightly) off topic suggestion, on with the review.
It’s not a typical review, of a song by a band, no. Instead of a band, think of this as a personality.
Let me explain. Cody Skills (the name of this “band”) is not a group with a set line up, merely just a group that any musician can join. This is a charity effort, with all money obtained from the first single going to Leukimia and Lymphoma Research. A brilliant cause, then!
The entire mindset behind Cody Skills is (as said in their facebook biography) “So who is Cody Skills? The question is unimportant. Cody Skills is an individual, a group of people, a band, a collaboration, a partnership, a sharing of passion and common purpose. Cody Skills is quite simply a musician, playing his style of music with his friends for fun.” and it’s this that really speaks volumes. It’s not about the people, it’s about the music, and in this modern day culture of X factor’s and Britains Got Talents, it seems that stardom is a mere application process away, and after that, all you do is sit around whilst people make songs for you.
Which of course, is wrong. Becoming a REAL musician is about working, busting a nut to make your music, and to get it out there, that’s what makes it all worth it. The ability to get YOUR own creation out there, for people to love and enjoy. However, many people don’t have the funds, the opportunity, or the gear to get into a band and get the music going, and this is the relevance to the aforementioned quote. What if the lack of opportunity for people to start making music means that we miss out on ‘The next ‘Canon’, or ‘Stairway To Heaven’?’ Cody Skills is a way for people to write their songs, all for a good cause.
So, good music, good cause, gives people opportunity, all looking solid here, onto the single.
Entitled “One More Day”, this is the first song released by Cody Skills. A summery, poppy tune indeed!
The first thing that stood out to me upon my first listen was the chorus. Very simple, but its been stuck in my head since, and that was a whole week ago. Bouncy, I think would be the term best suited to this melodic, infectious number, with some great guitar backing as well. Whilst the version I listened to was a rough mix, it was near as makes no difference up to release quality, with just a few tweaks needed to make it really shine!
The second thing that stood out to me was the lyrics. At first listen, it could be argued that this is a sad song, with some mournful lyrics. However, upon extensive listening, the real meaning is one that mirrors the tone of the music, a kind of joie de vivre, celebrating life and having an all round positive meaning to it. The influences are clear in the style of this song, there’s a very Train-esque ring to “One More Day”, and in Andy L Smooth’s (of Bad Magic and Colt 45) vocals, I can sense more than a little bit of Mumford and Sons.
So all in all, very poppy, very catchy, very fantastic. As far as first releases go, it’s a sterling effort, and I’m definitely looking forward to what else will come out of this project! Hats off to Cody Skills, a lot of talent is floating about, begging for you to snatch them up, and make some anthems!
As a last note, there will soon be a video released for “One More Day”. I’ve managed to get a sneak peek at the work in progress version and I can definitely say you are all in for a treat. get out there, download this song, it’s all for a good cause at the end of the day, and you won’t regret it!
So if you need or want to join them, just mail them, and let’s start a musical revolution!! cody.skills85@gmail.com
Link
http://www.facebook.com/cody.skills85
Words by Mike Masters.
