Madison Square Garden, Wembley Stadium and the White House are some of the places that Ted Sablay has played,as he has been an integral part of “The Killers” touring band for the last 15 years. He played 3 world tours with “The Killers”…and collaborated with Bruce Springsteen.
That was happening during his time pursuing his master’s in accounting at UNLV…
What can’t this man do?
Well, even when COVID-19 hit, it halted the fourth world tour with “The Killers”…but it didn’t stop him from making music. Actually, that gave him the time to finish his first full length album “You’ll Be Back Here Soon”.
…just before returning to touring with “The Killers” for their 2022 world tour as a touring guitarist and as the band’s musical director.
Ted did an absolutely impeccable job recording the guitars, bass, keyboards and vocals himself on his album “You’ll Be Back Here Soon”…just…phenomenal.
What can you say about a man like Ted, that hasn’t been said already?
I am stoked to take you with me on a ride through “You’ll Be Back Here Soon”, going into the nitty gritty details of the craftsmanship that went into this album…let’s go.
We start at “Admit It Now”, this is our first song in our journey.
This is a pop-rock song that has all the hallmarks of a super professionally crafted song.
Catchy choruses, melodic verses, a guitar solo, awesome output quality.
The tempo is a bit upbeat and serves the whole song in the right way.
Everything is glued just perfectly.
From there, we move onto the second track, which is the album’s title track “You’ll Be Back Here Soon”.
This track is a bit slower than the first song, but again, the speed serves the purpose of the song and gives spaces for the song’s progression and vocal melodies.
It is a bit like an upbeat pop-rock-ballad, flowing, telling stories and taking its time to fully bloom.
“Let Me In” is the third track and it is a complete shift in mood and energy.
It’s got some ambient elements but with a steady beat that drives the song forward.
This time around there are more synthy parts…it took me back to the awesome 90s, with groovy beats and melodic vocal lines and the chorus is super catchy.
It also has some smooth guitar playing…with a little melodic solo, that is both tonally and melodically on point.
The fourth track “Ways of Love” once again, introduces a different kind of energy, more of an indie-pop-rock feel, with tambourines and guitars…but it also has Ted’s marks all over it…
Smooth guitar licks, synth-pop elements and catchy melodies.
With even more energy, we vault into the fifth track “Love Is Strong”.
The most upbeat song so far in the album.
…it has that kind of music that would make you move your feet, move your head then suddenly you find yourself jumping uncontrollably!
This song also has some awesome vocal layering stuff going on for it.
I would also like to take this chance and just say that…we’re here at the midpoint in the album…and the songs so far were upbeat, lively and life-loving…you know those feel-good-songs that can make your day a little better? That’s exactly it.
“I Only Care About You” marks the beginning of the second half of the album and it is exactly what I would’ve wanted to experience…a shift in the energy of the album.
This song has a more mellow drum sound, beat, instrumentation and even the vocals seems to be more mellow…and everything is enveloped in this big hall that puts a mellow filter on the whole mood, this is absolutely awesome.
This song has an instrumental outro that is excellent.
Going deeper into the album, we reach “Just Out Of Reach”…
Somehow this track reminded me of some of John Mayer’s recent stuff, not sure why, maybe the energy? Feel? Quality? I am not sure, but it is definitely up there.
The bass line is an important protagonist this time around and he’s doing some heavy lifting, super catchy.
After “Just Out Of Reach” we arrive at “We Don’t Talk Anymore”…seems like the logical progression in a breakup…that’s just me!
We go into pop-rock-ballad territory once again with this song.
“We Don’t Talk Anymore” has some awesome buildup and awesome chord changes…that is of course highlighted with the catchy melody shown in the vocal line.
The guitars are doing some cool stereo width stuff there, it feels so full!
Our ninth song is “Fall Out of Love” and it takes the energy levels up a little bit.
If I was asked to choose only one song as my personal favorite…I would choose this one, “Fall Out of Love”.
The verses are very melodic and the chorus is absolutely brilliant…especially with those awesome sounding guitars…and it has a guitar solo that took me to places that I didn’t know I wanted to go to…this has touched a sensitive nerve.
We are almost at the very end of our journey…
…reaching the tenth and final song of the album, “All That I Say”.
This time around I will let you know what I felt…
…the song is an emotional goodbye, farewell or perhaps a start of something new?
Spotlights are shining on the piano and vocal performances this time around, and both are delivering on a very high level of emotions.
I can proudly and confidently say that this album has the power to change your mood…it can make you mellow, dance, think and feel…just fine with whatever the world throws at you.
Ted, you have changed our mood, made our day a little better and we owe you that.
We wish you all the best in the world and we won’t just take one album…we will need a lot more, so…looking forward to what’s coming.
Cheers!
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