Published on Jul 17, 2017
Formerly the leader of the Refreshments, Roger Clyne has made his own career since that group disbanded and now he is back with his latest release, Native Heart. The Peacemakers help Clyne keep up the pace, and his vocals still sound as great as they ever did. “Flowerin’” is a great little pop song that sounds great anywhere – on the beach, in the house, wherever. “Sunday Drivin’” is another great number that listeners will find getting stuck in their heads.
“Arizona Nights” is a slower tune that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser live. It has great rhythm and a strong melody running throughout. “Barons To Break” sounds like an old Refreshments track and is one of the livelier tracks here. It should surely be a great addition to their live shows.
“Shadyside” is a nice enough pop song, but it really needs more of a kick for it to be truly memorable. “Viva Love” has a nice, quite unexpected, almost Santana-like solo, which really brings it alive and makes it another memorable track here. “Fun” is pleasant enough but feels like it was just thrown together to fill out the record.
While I was a fan of the Refreshments, this album just feels a bit flat and uninspired. There are some good songs here, no doubt about it, but everything just feels a bit off. Ultimately, it feels like the whole disc was thrown together rather quickly and it just doesn’t have the overall sense of fun and whimsy that earlier records did. Just take a listen to earlier releases and you’ll be able to hear what I’m talking about. Ultimately, this makes Native Heart a soft pass.