A boy band that can actually play instruments and sing at the same time, Adelayda follows the poppy-rock boy-band formula and revels in themes of love and loss.
Lead singer/songwriter Jeff Holmes began playing in coffee shops and bars in Birmingham, Ala., after turning down a solid job at a nationally renowned financial firm. After receiving acclaim for his guitar playing, he was introduced by a mutual friend to Dan Baker, the eventual drummer and singer of Adelayda. Baker then employed his former bandmate Justin Gannon to supply fresh guitar sounds. And when a phone call was made to Holmes’ old friend Jackson Eppley, a bass player was added to finally form the band in 1999.
After being asked to play at an event hosted by their local radio station WRAX, manager of the band Course of Nature and president of Superkala Records Ronnie Gilley discovered Adelayda and thought it sounded fresh and new. Right away he wanted to sign the band to his record label.
“I immediately noticed the sincerity that flowed from both their lyrics and their music,” recalls Gilley on the band’s website, www.adelayda.com.
After having the band record in Memphis, Gilley sent a demo of Adelayda’s EP back to WRAX and it garnered some of the most requested songs on air. Since then, the band has been hard at work on their first full-length album, Room to Breathe.
While the songs do follow a definite format of well-timed harmonies and melodic guitar solos, the songs have the added bonus of violins and Holmes’ voice carrying the album. Room to Breathe follows the love-and-loss theme as Holmes croons away, with a voice that isn’t finely tuned but is easy to listen to.
In the first song of the album, “Dawn,” Holmes’ voice is soft yet raspy. He carries the melody and even hits the high notes without causing a cringe. Gannon’s guitar sounds clearly through the singing and creates a nice harmony with Holmes’ voice. Songs hang in the balance of the guitar’s high pitch and his deep vocal resonance. While the lyrics may be cheesy (“Every angel has its wings / and it’s safe to say mine just flew away”), Gannon’s guitar playing shows the band has talent.
The song “Not Tonight,” which has received heavy airplay, is more melodic and symphonic than the rest, with violin calmly playing in the background. The guitar and the violin are well combined, somehow harmonizing to seem like one fluid instrument as opposed to two completely different ones. Holmes’ voice fluctuates between high and low notes with fluidity, singing, “And you lean in so much closer now / holding on so tight / it’s the last time I’ll be kissing you / so good night.” This song is one of the best and at the end, as Holmes breaks out in one long note of pain, the violin kicks in full blast with the drums softly beating, aurally mimicking the sense of pain and concerto at the same time.
While the album is set for release Oct. 7, two of the band members have left to pursue alternate interests. Guitar player Justin Gannon and bass player Jackson Eppley have left to be with friends and family. The band will have to cancel some shows on its scheduled tour but will continue touring in March.
Grade: A
