Michael Allen’s new album is Come Along for the Ride, having dropped October 23 and featuring several showcased singles – the titular track, Should’a Would’a Could’a, and Eyes for You Alone. Allen has this immediate, accessible unpretentiousness – this sense of an artist not striving for pure technical excellence, but a complete and assured ambience in totality. He embraces flaws in the production, whether it’s missing a note, or a strum slightly off-key. Like all of the maestros in the pre-digital era, in less able hands this would prove a liability, in the hands of someone like Allen it’s part of his allure.
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There’s this samba undertone to some of the tracks, everything proving an effective fusion of multiple musical genres forming its own kind of sound. There’s also a kind of honky-tonk and country pop in that mix, creating this odd but effective blend I would call acquired listening. Allen isn’t interested in being for everyone, he’s in that lineage of artists who do what they do unapologetically, those initiated either hanging on to the ride or getting bled out. I for one am along for the ride, particularly appreciative of Eyes for You Alone.
The track calls to mind sitting in the back of a smoky bar in Soho, the smell of cigarette smoke in the air and a sense of everything being acoustic and evoking a mood as much as a story within each of the stanzas. Allen’s caustic vocals add to this evocativeness, scratchy and somewhat discordant, but with each croon bringing to mind core ideas and emotions pertinent to his songs. In not being an entirely polished performer, he’s able to harken back to this raw, stripped authenticity which makes his album stand out in a sea of nostalgia pieces capitalizing on better days.
I’ve always felt that a good song is essentially just a good story. In music form, that is. Most music today is less about content, and more about creating catchy hooks to the detriment of something told with beginning, middle, and end. Acts like Michael Allen’s prove an elixir to this formula. He’s interested in actually communicating with the listener, imparting lyrics that call to mind a distinctive sense of time and place. Part of this approach is Allen’s deep and abiding faith, which informs every aspect of his artistic process.
As stated on his website, “Believing deeply that music is a creation of God and a gift to mankind, Michael has focused his creative abilities on exploring themes of spirituality and humanity’s relationship with the divine. His songs don’t shy away from the complexities of faith—addressing everything from moments of spiritual triumph to frustrations over personal failures and the folly of trying to navigate life’s challenges through human strength alone…For Michael, storytelling through music isn’t just a passion—it’s his calling. Through every song, he invites listeners to join him on a journey of discovery, faith, and the shared human experience, hoping to connect with others through the universal language of music that has enriched his life for decades.”
Chadwick Easton