Classy and sophisticated in “I’m Here Forever,” slow-churning and seductive in “If I Ever,” the grooves featured in Conor Maynard’s new album +11 Hours are undeniably the foundation of every cathartic event the record has to offer.
Though coupled with rhymes that frequently stir up as much emotion as any melodic faceting ever could, the beats found everywhere from “By Your Side” to “Dark Side” have been designed to get us on our feet whilst also leaving us hypnotized by the entrancing harmonies they come attached to. 2023 has been an amazing year for alternative music, and while +11 Hours has the look and feel of an alternative to the mainstream mundane, I wouldn’t be so quick to give it any specific labeling. Maynard is on a mission to melt hearts here, and aside from that, his aesthetical ambitions appear to be his lone creative compass.
+11 Hours offers the sort of kaleidoscopic diversity that will probably relegate its best moments – such as “How Am I” and “I’m Here Forever” – to the left side of the dial, but I don’t see this as being a bad thing. It’s clear even in the most cursory of listening sessions that Conor Maynard takes influence from a wide-ranging group of artists, singers, songwriters, and even poets, and had he tried to box these elements together any differently than he did here, I’m not certain that +11 Hours would be the accessible wonder it is in this instance.
There’s nothing particularly unnecessary in the master mix of this LP, and for the best examples of the record’s efficiency, I would point you to the stylish “By Your Side,” “Enemies,” and the album-opening (post-intro) “If I Ever” as prime fodder for your stereo speakers. Even with the decadence of the harmonies in these three songs taken into account, I love the structural integrity of this material, especially when comparing their compositional bones beside some of the top-charting releases currently out in pop music this summer. I don’t get any inauthentic vibes from this record – in all honesty, I think that Maynard makes it obvious from the get-go that leaving frills, bells, and whistles on the sidelines is part of his general modus operandi in the studio.
I only just recently found out about this player’s work upon checking out his YouTube channel and getting a pre-release copy of +11 Hours, but after checking out the depth of songcraft featured in all eight of the songs included here, I’m interested in hearing more from Maynard soon. There are a lot of different directions in which this project could be pushed, but for the time being, I think it would be awesome to hear a sequel to this LP that is just as eccentrically constructed. Conor Maynard has the chops to make whatever sort of music he wants to, from electronica to pop to vocal music and everything in between, and if he can build on the momentum of this initial offering, his already sterling fortune will continue to grow exponentially.
Chadwick Easton