Photo Ops is the folk-pop outfit of singer-songwriter Terry Price, formally from the Nashville band Oblio. So far his music has notched up over a million plays on Spotify. This is high praise indeed from the discerning public and the number of listeners sums up Photo Ops popularity that leads to the band’s latest album, Pure at Heart.
Opening track Take The Long Way allows Terry Price to explain what was going through his mind at the time: “I wanted to capture the feeling of driving into the unknown future and being mystified by it. Like a lot of my songs, they are kind of lullabies to help cope with uncertainty.” It has a dreamy, Fleetwood Mac quality but at their most relaxed. It vibrates with the warmth of a long drive in the autumn on an American Highway. In fact, it’s the perfect music to drive to.
There is a kind of easy-going confidence to all the tracks on this album that draws you into its energy as if you are greeting an old friend. Walking Under Trees is a breathy dreamy track that once again transports your mind to better, simpler times. The answer to a troubled mind is to absorb that mind in nature and this song feels exactly like one of those perfect walks where the leaves have turned red in the trees and the sky is shot with yellows and pinks. Moreover, it captures a moment when you suddenly connect with yourself and your surroundings effortlessly. Many of the tracks on this album are about a moment of clarity with yourself.
Live With Yourself puts me in mind of a Simon and Garfunkel song and feels like it’s based around the human body, it’s backing track is a heartbeat and the lyrics are a plaintive and emotional conversation with the self. Play On is a plea to keep going through the strange times to be alive. Long days and long nights. This is an anthem to feeling the urge to stay alive and to keep on going whatever happens.
Pure At Heart is an intoxicating blend of pop and folk; a combination of simplicity and confidence with more than a hint of Bob Dylan influence.
Score 4/5
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