Alyre’s debut album Fetterman Ave harnesses that distinct Jersey vibe, known only and found only in the special makings of New Jersey artists. This unique edge invokes passion, drive and ultimate listen ability. While Alyre possesses all of these traits, his overuse of heavy electric guitars, mixed with his own thin tenor voice lacks the definitive power punch.
“Blonde Hair and Broken Hearts” features a wall of heavy crunching guitars and unfortunately Alyre’s voice is not strong enough to carry it through. The timbre of his vocals is not a good mix with harsh tones. The other pitfall of this tune is that the strings clash with the guitars as well.
Joining Alyre on his debut is Katrina, who sings a duet as the voice of an angel in “Come Down To Me,” but the beautiful spell these two artists cast in the beginning of the song is broken when an onslaught of garage rock noise overtakes them. It is fitting to use instrumentation to aid in telling the musical story but not at the expense of overwhelming both the vocals and the message.
To make up for this, the two singers work well together in the title track with Katrina on backup vocals adding sweetness to the song with her lovely harmonies. The bongos open the number creating a chill, jamming coffeehouse flavor. The electric guitar is used sparingly between phrases and the acoustic work in the bridge with the bongo introit is great. With the different overlapping layers it is disappointing that the coda is truncated.
Alyre’s best performance is “I Will Stay” where he sings in a call and response format with himself with excellent dovetailing effect. The string work is much more tasteful and the acoustic guitar solo in the bridge is well executed. Alyre however does fall into the trap of trying to sing too dramatically and loses his center of pitch on occasion.
The most radio friendly number is “Help Me” with its retro 90’s innocent pop melody. The quick lyrics and cute acoustic back up is reminiscent of Smash Mouth and holds true to the adage that less is more. Alyre’s vocals sound comfortable and not strained in the least with all of the acoustic work nicely complimenting the song.
“You’re Not Alone” is on the album as a full production number and as an acoustic version, with the latter being better. When Alyre is not drowned out by loud guitars that cover his vocals, his true qualities are able to shine more. Like Mark Wahlberg’s troubled character Chris Cole, in the rock movie “Rock Star,” Alyre does better with less show and sounds more natural and believable in an acoustic setting. With his raw talent and Jersey roots, he could do more with his music by branching out and trying different musical ideas with his songs.
Review by Kelly O’Neil
