On the Edge of Change is an EP by Jennings Couch, an Alternative Rock singer/songwriter who has made his way onto our main stage leaving creative footprints with commanding music that seeks the attention of the masses and winds up turning listeners into solid fans. Jennings Couch hails from the busy urban jungle of New York City USA on to London UK. We, music journalists, love to listen to the music of an artist such as Jennings Couch as this type of artist always gives us a plethora of musical ingenuity to explore.
On the Edge of Change hold four tracks that relate to anyone aesthetically, tangibly, and technically. The EP opens with “You Taste Like Water” a speaker-thriller music parody that has every element needed to turn your listening into an experience instead of just a moment in time.
“You Taste Like Water” is deep in its sound and rich in its FX – this is the opening song needed for an arena tour. The lyrics spell out the theme of mind games played on people by a social media-driven society – the opening lyrics sing: my mind is playing games with things I can’t believe / fake news coming on my screen / gold dust over everything / flip through and I see your face . . . but you’re so lovely in reality. The harmony on the leads are seductively infections, while the resonation that Jennings Couch places on his leads are smokin – that element of high/low melding with tenor backing notes and short bursts of vocal effects. The distorted guitar at the two minutes / five seconds mark is lit. And, the pulled back-vocal inside of the bridge is equally distorted acoustically resembling that frame of mind that people go into when they are mindlessly being pulled into the effects of cyber-vision. This is Arena Rock at its best!
“Mistakes Like You” showcases how temptation and its power over the senses is a real thing and how it can seem surreal within so many aspects of life. “Mistakes Like You” features an electrically driven instrumentation pallet that will hotwire any numb listener. The descending synths in the hook are quite satiable and support the song’s theme. And while Jennings Couch is very organic with his vocal approach, his modern vocal delivery with contemporary FX balances the duality of a track that sits well between classic Alternative Rock and Modern Top 40 Rock. Great technique
And what makes the third track so appealing is the duplexed harmonies that form the threading melody of the track’s hook – I call the harmony “duplexed” because it has two parts of typical harmony notes, but they are bound within one unit of sound electronically. The piano chords on this track is so beautiful. “Override” is that metaphorical Alternative Rock ballad that will resonate to all ages. The storyline compares erasing the memory of a sour lover to the override feature on computers – so now! And, the way that Jennings Couch utilizes a soft approach in his vocal register displays his varied vocal range. A very emotive track. The additional soundscapes that layer in towards the middle of the track just melodically adds texture and takes this ballad further into power ballad territory.
“Chemical Roulette” flaunts superpowers with its soundscapes wrapping themselves around effects. This track is so in-your-face, that once the song is done, it is as if you are tattooed with it. Jennings Couch blends the genres again with this fourth track. The mix of Alternative Rock and Electronic Rock is clear with the synth-heaviness of “Chemical Roulette.” All of these electronic elements enhance the message behind the song, which is to live life off the cuff. Just like Russian Roulette where the bullet is actually left up to the gun, and the player’s chance of receiving the bullet is left up to chance, the lyrics of this track shows how when one lives life by chance, or by just being spontaneous, life becomes worth living.
The EP closes with “March On” – a track that is synth-heavy and not depleted of percussions. The final track very openly lays out the reality of our wounded planet and how things must change drastically. This song features an anthemic chorus with live-out-loud synths. Moreover, the military drums are illustrative in giving off the rebel-yell effect that this song gives to its listeners. In addition, Jennings Couch’s use of real-time vocal opinions clearly speaks volumes. This song is a two-edged sword as it demonstrates how the environment needs help, and how literally the social climate of our times, right now, globally, is in the red. Nice wakeup call!
What Jennings Couch is doing for the millennium is what Billy Idol did for the 1980s – push the envelope unapologetically marking his own paths and gaining followers at the same time. Vocally, Jennings Couch wears his heart on his sleeve and his experiences on his back. The music of Jennings Couch has the power to unite and ignite – for example, I promise you, if you are alone in an arena, and one of Jennings Couch’s songs starts playing, and is turned up, wait and see how the people begin to join you and fill that void. Suddenly, you are not alone!
Find out more:
https://www.jenningscouch.com/
https://twitter.com/jenningscouch
https://www.facebook.com/jenningscouch/
