I would like to think that when it comes to music and it’s history I am very knowledgable. And with the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, I would like to think so. However with the rise of the internet and the big changes that come with the distribution of music, that knowledge is slowly slipping.

Case in point. I went in cold to listen to “Arrows To Athens”.

So I had no idea what style of music they played, who was in the band, who produced it and which label if any released it. Basically I was going in cold except for the words of a few friends via the six degrees of separation theory. Yep it was one of those, a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend mentioned that the band is cool.

Kings And Thieves

I really liked it. It’s simple but effective modern rock. Catchy as hell.

So I Googled it and I came across the name of David Hodges. Apart from the David Hodges connection there is not a lot of information available on-line about the band.

He walked away from Evanescence before “Fallen” exploded and since then he has become a new Jim Vallance or Desmond Child or Max Martin in the song writing world of modern/pop rock.

But I bet you that a lot of the people who like the artists that David Hodges worked with have no idea that the songs they like were co-written or written by David Hodges. Because that is the world today. The kids don’t care about the back story of the song. All they care about is the end product.

Due to the lack of information available online it is pretty easy to conclude that no one has really heard the album, which is a shame. Because it is good. Better than the rubbish that the major labels push out. If this album had Maroon 5 or Coldplay as the artist, I guarantee you that all of the songs would be smash hits. However it barely exists. The most streamed song on Spotify is at 67,000 streams.

Used To Be

A power ballad. Phenomenal.

“Cause the tide is coming
Swallowing the ground”

Change and starting over is never easy, because we beat ourselves up before the change even happens.

Should we do this is the first question that we ask ourselves over and over again?

If we do this, then this might happen?

If we don’t do this, then this other thing might happen?

We play Nostradamus on the decisions that we make. It makes us fear change. However once we decide to make change, then there is no looking back. The decision has been made and it’s time to go forward.

The song is heartfelt. We’ve all been there, but David Hodges encapsulates it all in a four-minute masterpiece.

Crime

“Look at this life
Is the mirror what you want to see?”

We have all been in this place, where we look in the mirror, see our reflection and we don’t like what we see. Somewhere in the past, decisions that we made have led us down onto a path that has more or less made us someone we don’t want to be.

The Waiting

From the outset it reminds me of “Citizen Soldier” from Three Doors Down.

Fate still holds us
We work our life to ease a conscience,
And fill the Earth to set it free
‘Cause truth will rise up to the surface
And present words won’t change a thing

All the liars today will have their lies unmasked long after they are gone. That is the way of the world. The truth will always rise up to the surface. So to all of those ex-band members of mine who claimed to have written songs that I wrote years before the band even started, watch out. Fate will make the truth see the light of day.

Alive

David’s problem is that he is too talented. He can easily write hit singles. The song is infectious.

There are clouds on the horizon,
So take a breath here in the calm before the storm.
If only for a moment

Our lives are too hectic. Each day is a focus struggle. We work at our desks with our headphones on. Doing two things at once. We watch our favourite TV shows with our laptops or tablets or iPads in our hands.

Sometimes we need to just take a moment break, take a break and re-evaluate why we are alive.

It’s just another hit song in a line of songs that has not reached a wider audience.

The Silence

Do you believe that the silence can erase the memory?

We all need to be supported by someone who can testify to the truth that we say. However, no one wants to get involved anymore, so they stay in silence on the sidelines while we burn.

Your Gravity

This is my goodbye
I can’t take another year
Falling into broken expectations

It sounds like the thousands of wannabe artists that walk away from a dream of being a rock n roll superstar. While the actual song subject matter is different, the lyric line is generic enough to be applied to many different situations.

Do yourself a favour and check it out. It’s on Spotify and on YouTube.