Ady’s sounding good

Review: Ady Suleiman's debut album Memories

By
Olly-Leslie Watson
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Olly Watson reviews the debut album from singer-songwriter Ady Suleiman…

 

Up and coming singer-songwriter Ady Suleiman has finally got round to releasing his debut LP, Memories, three years after his first EP hit the internet in early 2015.

Overall this is a very good album that shows off the vocal talent of the 24-year-old from Nottingham.

Fans of his music will not be disappointed with this effort, and any newcomers will have good reason to stick around and check out some of the music that didn’t make the album.

This is what I think of the songs on the album:

I Remember

The album starts of strongly with the song previously featured as an EP title-track. The songs uptempo vibe is finely juxtaposed with the lyrical content, as Ady sings about memories of a previous lover who he’s found out is getting engaged “to somebody who’s better than me.”

Need Somebody To Love

Another previously released song from over two years ago, this is the song that really started to get people paying attention to his rise. The storytelling throughout the song of his search for the woman of his dreams shifts from comical one liners, “I’ll look back at this verse and say thank f*** finally” to deep heartfelt lyrics like “I will swim across these oceans do deal with these emotions of love”. A highlight of his musical career so far and deserving of a remastering for the album.

Longing For Your Love

This track is extremely stripped back and full of emotion, a running theme throughout the album. The brass at the end of the song is a welcome layer to the music which really adds to the song and keeps it progressing forward nicely. For a song so simple, it’s a testament to his vocals and craftsmanship that the track doesn’t feel too long over its 5:29 running time.

Serious

In this song Ady goes sings about a relationship that got “far too serious”. This song talks about a casual thing with a girl and she wants their relationship to start developing into something more whilst Ady wants it to stay as it is. The chorus picks up the pace considerably after the first verse and then continues at a pace until the bridge and the outro. The chopping and changing of the layers in the song really adds to the what would otherwise be a fairly generic track.

Say So

The electronically-manipulated instruments in this track carry a song about Ady internally struggling with the idea of telling a girl across the room that he wants to take her home. One of the weaker tracks on the album, it suffers from it’s repetitive nature and slightly jarring backing track that is so distant from the first four songs.

Make Sense (Interlude)

A short interlude but a fascinating track and a personal highlight of the album. The track is very interesting artistically and hopefully Suleiman will explore this experimental sound more often moving forward.

Memories

The album’s title track, the song begins and builds on the captivating beat and vocals. The song immediately gives a haunting feeling as Ady sings with a raw emotion that is carried by the beautiful track that unravels into a guitar-solo breakdown mid-way through. The song really showcases his songwriting potential and is an excellent choice for the title track, as it encompasses the best of the album in five minute segment.

So Lost

One of the less inspiring tracks, this song has a slightly different tone to the rest and feels a little lost on the record, lacking the lyrical depth or sillyness other tracks have whilst also not being held up by any instrumentation. A catchy track though, just lacking the wow factor.

My Love (Interlude)

A song to be listened to throw good headphones, the way the two guitars strum in each ear as the percussion and Ady’s vocals build in volume is a nice change in pace and a welcome interlude. Nothing breathtaking here though.

If I Die

A slow song reminiscent of old-school slow-dance songs. The song has an orchestral feel and glides along slowly and peacefully throughout its five minute run time without dramatically changing tone or pace. Upbeat lyrically and again juxtaposed with the title.

Not Giving Up

One of the songs released on an earlier EP without any editing for this album, Not Giving Up is a good track that perhaps shows signs of slight aging alongside some of the other tracks for fans, as the track is slightly more linear and fails to truly shine alongside some of the tracks featured.

Loving Arms

Another slow track to end on, this song is a good sign off for the album with a slow build throughout the track and a pleasant key change into the first chorus. Not one of the best when compared to the rest of the album but a beautiful tune regardless.

The album overall suffers from a lack of real experimentation and variety that we are shown glimpses of through the interlude tracks, but is a very strong debut despite that. Well worth a listen and it will be interesting to follow his career from here on.

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