Vintage Trouble – Chapter II (EP Review)


In a time where it is sometimes difficult to determine the identity of one music act from the other, out comes Vintage Trouble.

Forming back in 2010, the Southern California four piece band take an olden days approach to their music – bringing together R&B, Soul, Blues, and mashing it all together into one groovy ball of Rock-n-Roll. Giving audiences something they can feel, they were the opening act on a full tour for The Who back in 2012, have seen their music featured in commercials, played shows all over the globe, and broke through into international charts in 2015 with their third studio LP, 1 Hopeful Rd. Now they set out to write the next segment in their story with the release of their Chapter II EP on Friday, November 9th via INgrooves.

Produced by Jeeve (Bruno Mars, Carlos Santana), Chapter II is a project that Vintage Trouble – Ty Taylor (vocals), Nalle Colt (guitar), Rick Barrio Dill (bass), and Richard Danielson (drums) – really dug deep down to create. Now seasoned touring musicians, with three full-length records under their belt, they harnessed their experience and electric stage presence into a studio recording. Speaking of electric, the EP is actually broken into two, a full on electric edition and an acoustic edition with the songs stripped down to the bare bones.

A collection of 5 new songs, the EP is a smooth mix that is engaging, lively, and begs you to get up out of your seat. Clear from the first track, “Do Me Right” is led by an irresistible bass line flowing into catchy guitars and Taylor’s full bodied voice. Showing more Pop sensibility with “Can’t Stop Rollin’,” a classic ’50s Rock vibe on “My Whole World Stopped Without You,” the quintessential Pop cut “”Crystal Clarity,” and textures of old school Soul on “The Battle’s End,” Vintage Trouble paint with all colors of the rainbow.

What is great about Chapter II is each song is unique and could stand alone as singles, opposed to just more filler. As far as the acoustic renditions on the flip side, they offer additional perspective into the creative world of Vintage Trouble, after all, most songs start out with an acoustic guitar before morphing into something more with various layers. For their acoustic sessions, there is still a level of excitement felt in the recordings, one that you could almost envision the quartet playing together in a circle around a campfire and having a blast doing so.

Vintage Trouble tried something new and struck gold. A touring band to the core, in previous recordings they would lay down the music live, but this time around they opted to track individually and sprinkle in some new elements such as keyboards and horns for flavor. In doing so, they have proven that they have the ability to expand their sound to something bigger, all while still keeping it real. In truth, it is a sin that this band is not bigger than they are. They have all the right ingredients – talent, polished songwriting, diversity, and, most of all, soul. On a whole, Rock-n-Roll has become dull and predictable in 2018, isn’t it time you give Vintage Trouble a listen? That is why CrypticRock gives Chapter II 4 out of 5 stars, shy of a perfect score only because we want more!

Feature photo credit: Jay Gilbert

Purchase Chapter II:

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1 Comment

  • Ty Taylor has more natural star power than any musician of the past twenty-five years.

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