Father Revisted by Justin McRoberts

Father Revisted by Justin McRoberts
Father Revisited

Justin McRoberts is back. Never mind that he already put out an album this year (welcome to the new musician-controlled music industry). Now he’s revisiting his second album, Father, originally released a decade ago, and offering rearranged versions of four songs from that release. You can get them for free from NoiseTrade (you can also score $3 off his latest covers album).

Twelve years ago this month Justin lost his father to suicide and depression. These songs explore his father and the experience of losing him. But this time around there’s something deeper:

“Every May 6th since has a surreal quality to it; as if the day should have been retired for all its wear and tear. But this May has a different shade to it than the past 11, as my first child, a son, is due May 31.”

So this collection marks the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one. As a father myself, that’s pretty cool. I started listening to Justin McRoberts more than a decade ago (has it been that long?!), and it’s been cool to watch him stretch and grow as an artist and person.

One of the songs, “Waiting on Your Love,” will be of special interest to Five Iron Frenzy fans. It features vocals from FIF lead singer Reese Roper and includes lyrics from “Every New Day.” Justin talks about his connection with Five Iron Frenzy and the mashup of songs over at the FIF site. I love the song “Every New Day” and I love hearing Roper sing again, but still, it kind of cracks me up that “Every New Day” is continually reused. Five Iron recycled the song themselves when they slapped it on as the ending to “On Distant Shores.” The lyrics are amazing, so I can understand the temptation. But you can’t top the original, so let’s leave it alone in its greatness.

It just so happens that one of the other songs in this collection, “After All,” is one of my favorites from Father. I haven’t listened to it in a long time, but that glimmer of recognition came when the song started. That one is the real stand out here as well.

Go download Father Revisited from Noisetrade, free for a limited time.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *