Watch out girls, Casey Todd is here and he is ready to melt hearts. Todd’s five song EP, “Do You Know,” released earlier this year takes the listener on a relational journey that is sure to tear at the heart strings of anyone who has experienced a breakup. Self proclaimed “acoustic/funk/soul” artist (www.myspace.com/caseytoddmusic), Todd’s melodic voice and acoustic chords create a harmony anyone could cry into a pillow to. Plus, he is one pretty boy.
The album gets off to a less than catchy start musically with Todd singing over an acoustic guitar in “All This I Want,” but it gives the listener an opportunity to ease into his style of performing. In the track, Todd tells the story of a fall from the “good life” and asks, who is presumably a romantic interest to, “forget about the past now and let’s start a new way.” Throughout the song Todd reminisces about what he once had but makes the point he did everything he could do for the situation.
The listener learns he failed, learned a lesson and that it is time to move on. The only catch is he wants presumed romantic interest to move on with him. While the chorus is a bit repetitive, the listener can hear the plea in Todd’s voice.
The second track, “Fine For Now,” picks up musically with some drums as well as a more complex guitar part. In this song, Todd paints the story of the classic relationship that has gone bad, but both people are still hanging on. It is hard not to nod to the beat a little when Todd sings, “it’s fine for now it’s fine for this,” bringing back memories of every relationship that survived its expiration date. Later in the song, Todd asks the question that so often gets ignored in relationships when he inquires, “will you tell me why you came back then you cried?”. Todd has a very straightforward way of saying the obvious in a way that makes the listener feel like it is brand new advice.
Much like “Fine For Now,” in tracks three and four, “Stand to Fall” and “Wreckage and the Noise,” Todd talks about the awkward place between dating and not dating. With lyrics like, “It’s been hard alone I guess/ What did you expect from me?/ What did you intend to see?/ It’s time to finally go,” and “You tear at my scars that haven’t healed since our first fall/ And every time I turn, I fall back and I burn,” Todd hints at bitterness towards a lover but expresses confusion and hurt over the potential loss of that person.
The last track of the album, “Wait For Me,” does an excellent job of tying the EP together. The music carries a lighter mood and the guitar is complimented by a keyboard that has a Straylight Run feel to it. Besides being the catchiest song musically on the album, the lyrics of “Wait For Me” display more creativity and passion than the rest of “Do You Know?” The song indicates that Todd might have waited for a lover in the past and now it is the lover’s turn to return the favor. While the listener never does find out why the lover is forced to wait, Todd assures the lover he is, “diving back down to see you now,” and begs, “So will you wait for me/ like I waited for you/ I waited for you.” Todd goes on to say the wait will not be too bad with the lyrics, “time will fall on its knees, just like you did.” By the end of the song, Todd’s passion leaves the listener wanting to sing along with him to convince the lover to wait.
While Todd’s solo career is less than a year old, he is not new to the Kansas City, Mo., music scene. Todd got his start as the vocalist for the Kansas City, Mo., indie/rock band, Chasing 7, and has progressed from there. Now on his own, he has played a number of local shows as well as some larger venues including the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.
If someone is looking for flashy guitar solos and crazy drum beats, Casey Todd is not the artist to look to, but if the desired music is melodic, catchy and easy to listen to, “Do You Know?” is a worthwhile buy.