Full of heart and passion, Tom Ciurczak is here to bring us the warm and fuzzy embrace of country rock, full of soaring guitar solos, rotary organs on full blast, and choir backing vocals, on his latest studio album, I Ain’t Ever Growing Up, Vol.I.
The outgoing New Yorker transplanted in Los Angeles Tom Ciurczak is a singer and songwriter whose brand of rock can be easily identified as country rock, or outlaw rock, or maybe outlaw country… they would all work. On I Ain’t Ever Growing Up, volume 1 is a collection of tunes that will get your feet stomping along with the rhythm at parts, singing along at others, and headbanging at some points too. A healthy meal of tight-knit rock with a wholesome sound to the production, with the rich mixes and the terrific performances.
On the first volume of I Ain’t Ever Growing Up, Tom Ciurczak does not seem interested in breaking any musical grounds. Instead, the man is occupied with writing solid tunes that are easy on the ears and on the hearts. Singing his heart out throughout the album, Ciurczak’s impassioned deliveries and heartwarming lyrics are a mainstay throughout the album. Giving up a more easygoing version of The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, and with a strong influence from the one and only Steve Earle, Tom Ciurczak’s heartland rock music is guitar heavy, with hooks, riffs, twangs, and tasty overdrives, the guitar work on the album easily drives things forward, supported by an A-team of players and mixing and mastering engineers, pushing the entertainment value of the album even more forward. From the rock-solid drumming of world-class session drummer Kenny Aronoff and regal bass lines and tones from Travis Carlton to the soaring acoustic rhythm strums from Angela Petrilli, the music is put together by engineers Stephen Haaker and Brett Grossman. The output can be as chilling as the experimental ‘Nights on Fire’, or as genial and soothing as the grandiose Latin ballad ‘Right Or Wrong Choice’, as sunshine country as the starter ‘Ontario Nights’, or as southern country as the finisher ‘Bonnie And Clyde’.
Moving from one song to the other on the album, Tom Ciurczak proves time and time again what a capable songwriter he is, that no matter how good the musicians are, it all is kind of pointless if you don’t have a solid song base to build upon. And luckily, this 8-song album has 8 very solid songs, with amazing musicians laying down amazing performances throughout.
