MCINNIS’ STELLAR VOICE CAN’T OVERCOME A BAD ALBUM

I’m incredibly frustrated right now. I love Adam McInnis. I don’t appreciate Wherever You Are. It’s a dichotomy difficult to write about, but seeing as this is my job…

In short, McInnis’ voice is one of the best in the business, and it shines as the true star on his label debut. I presume there was a room full of label execs shaking their heads in a silent agreement of “We’ve gotta sign this guy.”

But then things become confusing. A voice as heavenly as McInnis’ still doesn’t a quality album make. And it’s here that the High Wire Music release utterly flops—a beautiful present wrapped in shoddy paper. Both McInnis and the listener deserve much, much better.

Musically, McInnis and his five-piece band jump from piano ballads to ’80s dance-floor pulses, soulful rock to jam rock. It’s a sign that nobody quite knows how to utilize McInnis’ talents (including himself?), and it signals a frustrating listen when trying to take the entire album in one sitting.

Wherever You Are’s worst offenses are its lyrical ones, largely made up of retread lines of love and faith. “I wanna be wherever you are/Wearin’ a sign on my chest so everybody knows I’m yours,” sings McInnis on the title track. The romantic ballad “Forever Love” includes this sigh-inducing gem: “I gave you my heart/I gave you my soul… Forever I’ll miss you, Forever’s not enough/I’ll forever give/Forever love.”

The album’s not without highlights. The piano prayer of “Too Much Beauty” succeeds both in trumping the trite lyricism of other songs and allowing McInnis’ vocal to truly shine. On “Since I Spoke Your Name,” the piano and guitar strongly march hand-in-hand toward the build where he beautifully sings, “I don’t want to lose what I’ve been livin’ for.” Still, it’s too little, too late by this point. McInnis deserves the chance to be showcased, but not in this light. It’s not flattering. –Matt Conner