REVIEW: George Theodorou — When I Cry (SINGLE)
Rock n’ roll’s best talents are once again coming from shores other than America’s, and if you’re looking for one of the brightest young voices to emerge out of the European underground this year, I don’t think you can beat the one and only George Theodorou. Theodorou’s debut single, “When I Cry,” has the trimmings of a veteran release sans the jaded attitude frequently filtering even the most optimistic of narratives to come from the seasoned rockers among us. Theodorou brings youthful wisdom and European insight into the genre, both of which have been missing for decades, and makes for quite the case for his ascension through the indie ranks here.
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“I’m not a drop of water, and you can’t hurt the rain,” we’re told in the most epic of verses in “When I Cry,” but as weighty as these words from my man are, they’re not made powerful until he sings them to us. He puts a lot of himself into these lyrics, more than I would even say he has to in order to make a stern point with his statement, but what comes from his intimate approach is nothing less than spellbinding — especially in comparison to what I’ve been hearing from players around the world in the last five months.
Theodorou’s vocal shapes the verses here like nothing else could have, but I think it’s pretty clear to both the trained critic and the occasional pop fan the same that he isn’t pushing himself any harder than his voice can naturally handle. He’s reticent to let the band handle the greater share of the melodic duties in this performance, and whether right in this or not, it forces him to give as organic (yet disciplined) a contribution to the song as he can muster; without the aid of synthetics.
While the guitar tones are gorgeous beside the singing, they don’t feel the least bit filtered nor touched-up as to sound a little crisper than they actually would be in a live concert. I get the impression that, when he can make it happen, George Theodorou doesn’t like to cut anything other than the most direct tonal snapshot the studio environment can afford — after all, if this weren’t the case I highly doubt he would be going to the meticulous lengths he is in this incredibly technical and smooth-running debut.
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The rock movement needs more players like Theodorou working towards the future of heavy music right now, and once you listen to this track and take a look at its companion music video, I think you’re going to agree. There’s still a hearty pop center to the artistry in play here, but make no mistakes about it — “When I Cry” is born of a heavy rock aesthetic that can only do amazing things for George Theodorou so long as he continues to use it in the conservative way he has in this release. I’ve got high expectations for his future, and from the looks of his first official transmission, he isn’t going to disappoint.
Colin Jordan
