Esso – Everything You Ever Wanted
Esso – Everything You Ever Wanted – Album Review
For this brief moment here…I know a few things you might not. And we’ll get to that, I promise I’ll fill you in soon enough…I’m just saying don’t let this pretty piano introduction of “Significant Other” fool you too much as Esso’s album Everything You Ever Wanted begins. Make no mistake – I’ve crossed paths here on these pages of ours a few times with the dude that got this band together before, and if I’ve learned anything about him, the energy, fun, and excitement is coming just around the corner. So take “Significant Other” as an opportunity to enjoy a lil’ serenity before things really kick into gear! Like I said, it’s a pretty way to start the record – I’m just also saying that I’m too grey in the face to assume that what we’re hearing would be all we’re gonna hear, you know what I mean? Brace yourselves, this is gonna get wild folks, I promise. I try not to ever set expectations too high, but I bet this will be killer!
Alright…while it’s true I’ve got the advantage of having been able to listen and write with the benefits of hindsight in any of these reviews you’re reading here – it ain’t like I wasn’t still right about everything I was saying in the intro. “Starting Over” gets the party started with a fiery burst of Pop/Rock energy, and just as predicted, the fun comes roaring out of your speakers immediately. It’s very much got the Weezer vibe to it, but that’s an influence that’s readily confessed and embraced by Esso’s main songwriter – none other than Jared Mancuso – a man we’ve come to know is synonymous with quality musicianship and stellar songwriting throughout the years. From what I understand, he’s dropped the solo moniker so that it ain’t so bloody awkward when he’s trying to introduce his band live from the stage. #Respect – that’s a solid decision. Esso it is! To be truthful, names and all that stuff have become about the most arbitrary and extraneous ingredient to the diet I’m on…as in, you can honestly call yourself whatever you like if you’re gonna sound as good as Esso does on “Starting Over!” I’m here for the music, man – and I am LOVING the fact that Esso sounds so willing to supply right from the start. Vocals are perfect, the music is crisp, the songwriting is spot-on, and the execution is truly staggering!
Full disclosure – I’ve purchased quite a bit of Mancuso’s music over the years from his page at Bandcamp, so you’re welcome to take anything I say with a grain of salt if you like. I’m a savage fan of the way this guy makes his music, but make no mistake y’all – I never lose sight of remaining objective. Like, when I heard “Only Wanted Your Love,” on my first listen through it, I wasn’t quite convinced that the verses were going to hold up strong enough…at least on that initial spin. Then I ended up where you’ll all end up too, in the chorus, and I’m like…THIS is what I’m tuning in for, you feel me? Hearing Jared scale up the melody of “Only Wanted Your Love” in the hooks of this cut is straight up DIVINE y’all – that’s right, I SAID IT. So…sure…I think I probably still have a bit more of a mixed reaction to the verses, but as I’ve told ya a million times on these pages of ours, one moment can completely make a song if you can nail it right. I’ve also pointed out that sometimes we need something a bit more on the typical side of sound in order to provide the kind of contrast required to make something else stand out for being as extraordinary as it is. The chorus of “Only Wanted Your Love” IS that addictive & irresistible moment you’re hoping to find at the heart of a song, and it’ll remain one of Esso’s most impressive parts in any of the cuts you’ll hear on Everything You Ever Wanted as it continues to cycle through its set-list.
What I can tell ya, from a listener’s perspective, is that you can hear the sound of Mancuso’s songwriting starting to mature even further at this stage of his career, and arguably strengthen. When I listen to a track like “The Good Days,” it’s like hearing the hybrid stage between the guy we’ve known and loved, that provides a bridge to his future ahead. Much like Weezer or Fountains Of Wayne in the sense that he’s always been able to incorporate that 50s/60s nostalgic vibe into the hooks of his music & vocals, “The Good Days” saves that element mainly for the chorus, while providing us with a more substantial glimpse into the maturing sound of his songwriting, almost more akin to what you’d find in one of the more evocative cuts from something like Jimmy Eat World in the verses. All-in-all, what you’ll always find in Mancuso’s music, which remains to be true here in Esso, is an astounding level of professionalism and quality at the heart of it all. From the clever placement of the backing vocals/harmonies, to the grip that the music and main hooks will have on you at the peaks of its intensity, “The Good Days” speaks pure volumes on how far he’s come to be where he is today, and how much effort he puts into his craft.
Being ‘the greatest’ at or of anything is damn tough y’all! Apt case in-point, when Weezer wrote “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived,” that idea fell fairly short of its boastful title…and…hmm…I suppose what I’d say is that I’m probably more of a fan of the three cuts prior to “The Greatest Song You Never Heard” on this shiny new record here too. It IS important to note that these songs are both somewhat written in jest to begin with, so yeah…don’t go taking anything too literally title-wise, listen to the actual words and the substance of the content – that’s where the real meat of these themes can be chewed upon. I freakin’ LOVE the guitar solo on “The Greatest Song You Never Heard,” I both dig and agree with a lot of the points that Jared’s making in the lyricism, and I’d also be the first to tell ya that when it comes to this dude’s execution, he always gives his material a chance at landing solidly in the court of public opinion. If you felt like “The Greatest Song You Never Heard” was indeed, “The Greatest Song You Never Heard” after you finally got your ears on it, I’d give ya a high-five – there’s no reason at all that this cut couldn’t end up being your favorite, because Esso is pretty much as ridiculously consistent as a band could ever hope to be. Great finale to this tune as well – “don’t try to be profound,” as Mancuso will tell ya in the lyrics of “The Greatest Song You Never Heard” – just serve up that “shiny & bright” stuff everyone loves!
Well then Esso, why not just get straight up ANTHEMIC then, right? There are multiple reasons as to why a song like “I Don’t Feel Good” was released as an advance single, with the majority of those reasons being the fact this song drips with extremely universal energy and sound combined. You get one of Jared’s best vocal performances on Everything You Ever Wanted, particularly in the chorus where the demands on his voice are actually at their highest. But yeah…whether it’s the verses, or the chorus, you’ll find tangible hooks in abundance all throughout this song, and a technicolor gloss to this track that can’t help but sparkle & shine. In addition to all that great stuff, Mancuso wisely enlisted his real-life girlfriend Aliya Rose to provide another dimension from the microphone for “I Don’t Feel Good,” and the verdict is in y’all – she’s fantastic! If anything, it ends up making us quickly crave another collaboration between these two, because THIS absolutely works brilliantly – “I Don’t Feel Good” is undeniably one of the album’s best, to the point where I’d honestly be shocked if anyone felt any differently about it. I love how Mancuso’s vocals came out, I love that Rose got more than just a backing role and gets the opportunity to take a lead moment of her own on “I Don’t Feel Good” too – and above all, considering that this IS in fact, a love-song…I mean…c’mon…it’ll melt your heart just listening to these two together. It absolutely helps that “I Don’t Feel Good” is an extraordinarily well-written tune to begin with, but yeah, the fact that it’s being sung in tandem by two awesome people that are in love, gives it even more credence. It’s not only a great freakin’ song, but feels entirely grounded & real despite its dreamy vibes.
What’d I tell ya from the very get-go in this review? It was just a matter of time before this dude was gonna turn up the heat & the volume on his amplifiers to melt your freakin’ speakers – and here we are, with “I Know Just What You Want.” He does indeed, seem to have a psychic-level read on what it is we the people are looking for in the music he creates…but more importantly, he’s so damn willing to supply that he deserves a genuine THANK YOU from longtime fans like me! Alright…enough MUSH – he already knows I love him. “I Know Just What You Want” is pretty much the Esso answer to the question of what would a “Song 2” style of tune sound like through the Mancuso approach? This would be that! Add in a touch of the classic throwback vibes he loves to work with in his melodies…a little bit of “Wipeout” style drumming goin’ on…and voila, you’ve got “I Know Just What You Want,” which will happily provide ya with that extreme dose of energetic enthusiasm you wanna hear in a great Rock record; this track is fun!
Hmm… “Sometimes I wonder about the things that I’m missing” and the things that artists hear in their material that we don’t always as listeners on the other side of the speakers. Let me be clear – even if Jared’s come up with a tune that I might not dig quite as much as the rest, like “Life Left For The Taking,” I’d still willingly listen to his stuff at half-strength than the majority of what’s out there giving it their best shot, you know what I mean? “Life Left For The Taking” is still a GOOD song, that much I’m 100% sure of. Is it a great one? Does it measure up to the rest of the material on the record? That could possibly be more up for debate. I’ll fully admit, listening to Esso punch into the transition of this song from its humble beginning to the lively electrified sound to follow is something else to experience, and quite likely the most significant highlight in this particular song. Production-wise, I wouldn’t say the ball gets dropped here, but chances are you’ll notice the amount of air in “Life Left For The Taking” as it begins – which is a fairly preventable thing…which makes you kind of have to wonder if it’s been left in by choice. It disappears entirely once this track plugs in and starts to rock, but you’ll notice it come back as it ends too. Ultimately, it doesn’t affect my enjoyment of “Life Left For The Taking” – it’s nothing too severe. I don’t know if I loved the pairing of the lighter-side of Jared’s vocals with the depth of the chords in the music…I feel like the contrast might have been a bit too much to feel like sounds that should coexist, but that’s more of a personal taste thing. Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t hating on this cut, it’s just not my #1 favorite from the set is all. With so many great tracks to choose from, am I to blame for that, or Esso!?!
I dig tracks like “Beverly” that attempt to draw influences from places you wouldn’t expect. You gotta look at things from the perspective of a music critic, where eventually life gets boiled down to the fact that most folks out there write about three topics in total and not a hell of a lot more. Word on the street is that Esso created “Beverly” from the perspective of the character of Ben singing to “Beverly” in Stephen King’s IT – and c’mon y’all – how rad is that? Not only is it rare to hear a love song inspired by a horror story, but the hooks in this cut are straight up charming as they can possibly get – “Beverly, can’t you see, the love that burns for you will keep us warm?” Cue the awwwwws! For real – I really dig what Mancuso has written here, and I think that it’s a real testament to how well things can work out when we find inspiration in the world around us, wherever we might find it, as opposed to simply writing another track based on what we’d consider to be safer, know what I mean? It’s still signature Mancuso, or Esso, or Green album-era Weezer…you get the point…it’s the music you love without a doubt, but the real effect of reaching for an outside influence ends up giving this track a refreshing spin on its meaning. That translates directly to our own level of interest in what we’re hearing, and clearly becomes a positive overall – songwriter’s out there could learn several lessons from Mancuso on how to do it right. The sincerity you’ll find in this track is truly genuine, which is pretty remarkable when you consider that the inspiration comes from a fictional source – that should tell ya how damn good Jared is on this track.
It’s funny…you can’t help but notice certain things with your eyes as you’re listening sometimes. Like, I was listening to the quaint sounds of “About The How,” and then I looked up at the wav file in front of me from the page at Soundcloud I was listening on, and could see the very end of this track was like, twice the size as the rest. Visually, that implies some serious fireworks or some complete chaos – but either way, it’s the kind of thing that caught my eye and got me curious as to what might come. When you hear “About The How” you’ll get what I mean – you spend like, what, something like nearly three minutes in one of Esso’s most humble & low-key moments…and it’s to the point where you start to wonder if your eyes are deceiving you! The song is still less than 3:30 in total, so you seriously begin to question whether or not it actually needs to do anything else other than what it’s already been doing, you feel me? I know I would have enjoyed “About The How” if it had stayed in the same gear it was in – I wouldn’t have complained. I might not have completely ranted and raved about it, but I wouldn’t be complaining either – I like what I hear, it’s a good song. I don’t know that I’m gonna be the guy to argue that the final thirty seconds or so takes it from good to great necessarily, but I really did end up liking the audibly unexpected switch in direction, and felt like Esso did a remarkable job of firing up the finale.
“This Is Only The Beginning” is intentionally placed at the end to add that extra layer of irony for ya, right before the experience with Everything You Ever Wanted wraps up. I think we can probably debate a little about whether or not this last track really pushes the record any further forward, or does anything too differently than the material we’ve already heard from Esso on this album…BUT…I mean, hey – more of a good thing is exactly that, ain’t it? Again, you’re not gonna find me complaining – I’ve loved this entire set, right up to and including “This Is Only The Beginning” – so it’s all gravy to me. Mancuso played it the right way by keeping the set tight to eleven tracks…tunes as catchy as these are end up practically daring you to wear them out as quickly as you can, and it is a genre that can take on a lot of wear & tear as the years go on. Regardless, if you’re a fan of the sound, you’ll still go back to the records that have it time and time again, but chances are you’ll start seeking out specific tracks for specific moods or playlists you’re making. You end up knowing where your favorites are, or where the right song is for the right moment you’re in, and that’s just kind of the nature of the game. It’d be the same for any Weezer album, so the same logic kinda holds true here too in a way. Still, I think that Esso has shown the growing depth, maturity, and versatility in Mancuso’s songwriting by revealing a more noticeably diverse set this time around…there’s ups, there’s downs, there are peaks and valleys, and it’s every bit the ride that I believe he’s intended to be. What I can tell you that Everything You Ever Wanted is for a certainty, is another quality entry into his legacy as an artist, and one riotously good time from the start to the end…no matter what name you find Jared Mancuso making music under, believe me when I tell ya, he makes everything worth listening to.
Everything You Ever Wanted arrives online May 24th – until then, find out more about Esso from the official website at: https://www.essomusic.com
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