Soldier Rye – Enter Paradise

Soldier Rye – Enter Paradise – Album Review

I always assume I’ve been listening to this dude’s music for a bit longer than I have, but to my credit, I was there pretty much from the beginning.  Just missed it by a hair really…Soldier Rye dropped his first record in 2014, and I think I came along for some kind of video remix or something the year afterwards if I recall correctly.  From that point forward, I think I’ve made comments on just about everything the guy has put out…2018’s Antenna and 2022’s Plot Twist…both solid albums from what I recall…I probably lean a little more towards Antenna I suppose, but overall, Soldier Rye is an undeniably consistent artist.  In any event, you get the point, I’m always happy to have this dude end up back on our pages anytime.  In particular, this time, finally at long last…I got this record’s submission just prior to going on vacation and it seems like it’s taken forever to share the details with you…so here they are for you to snack on.

I think the first thing I noticed was how “Enter Paradise” seemed to have a weighty sound to it that I wouldn’t usually associate with the upbeat demeanor of Soldier Rye’s music.  I’m here for it.  He’s likely come fairly close to something like this title-track in the past, but there’s just something about this song that seems so much more grounded than what we have heard from the guy in the past.  Melancholic – I guess that’s what I’m getting at.  Even as the lyricism attempts to lift this song into more positive terrain at times, you can’t help but feel the pull of sadness and emotion that is threaded into this opening track as well.  I don’t know specifically what’s causing that, or if it’s just my interpretation (I mean, the birds are still chirpin’ by the end of this opening track), but I do know that the mixed blend of evocative vibes really works wonders here.  Seriously engaging stuff, I felt like “Enter Paradise” put me right on the edge of my seat and had me listening intently right from the start of pushing play on Soldier Rye’s new album.

“My Full Pleasure” works along the same kind of contemplative, thought-provoking sound that’s still both dreamy and melancholy at the same time.  I think it’s fair to say that if you like something from Soldier Rye, it’s probably not too much of a stretch to think you’d like just about all of it, like I do.  There’s always a difference between liking and loving a track of course, but I feel like this dude ends up on the right side of that coin much more often than not.  “My Full Pleasure” is a good song…I don’t know if I’d say it belongs up there with the best of his best, but it’s once again a solid display of the consistency you’ll find in his material overall.  I think the music has a great mix on it, I like the variation in the main idea and the lyrical concept as well…I think it’s really just a matter of “My Full Pleasure” not really possessing majorly memorable moments or a hook we’ll never forget.  It’s got that soft and pleasant sound that came along with the James Iha solo album way back in the day…everything is welcome to the ears and you come out with a favorable opinion, even if you don’t really remember it.

“Milk N Honey” was a bit more of a toss-up for me I think…I felt like I could go either way with this one every time I listened to Enter Paradise…sometimes it hit the spot, other times I wasn’t as sure about it.  It’s very determined to stick to the rhyme scheme with the lyricism…and I tend to naturally rebel against tracks that feel like they’re trying to do that in an obvious way.  The flipside of that scenario of course, is that you can hear the poetry in the words…and that’s not always a bad thing.  Anyhow.  I suppose the difference maker for me was likely in the music itself, which is supremely smooth, vibrant, and lively – and I felt like the chorus felt a little more fluid and inviting to listen to, in comparison to the verses that felt a little more strict in how they’re structured.  I don’t hold that against our friend here – so many folks out there gotta get to that next rhyming word when they’re writing a song that they don’t often realize they’ve drifted far away from saying things how they’d normally say them…it ain’t just him, I can tell ya that with 100% certainty.  I really like the way that “Milk N Honey” transitions into its finale though, and felt like the extended glide through the smoothness at the end really secured victory here.

Alright…so…here’s where the rubber meets the road, as they say.  Believe me, I know what you’re going to think when you hear “Our Time Is Born” for the very first time…it will be…perplexing.  I assure you though, this is one of the great forms of perplexing to experience.  When Rye-Guy started to sing his way through “Our Time Is Born” and those first couple lines came out of him, I was wondering what the heck he was up to…it’s such a distinctly stylistic approach, and a unique one at that, that we kind of have to catch up to it…you know, let it sit with you a second or two so that your ears can process it.  Where it feels like Soldier Rye has wandered right outside of the lines as he colors this stellar beat & music in with his vocals, you’ll come to realize he was in full control the entire time and that everything comes together in this track just like you’d hope it would.  “Our Time Is Born” is sweet, charming, and catchy at the same time…and after you listen to it a couple times, that’s what you’ll remember most.  The opening might be polarizing for a moment or two and provoke different reactions in listeners I’m sure, but I can tell ya from firsthand experience, “Our Time Is Born” will have no problem winning you over in the end.

Full disclosure…this may or may not make you laugh Soldier Rye…but when “Fortune” started playing for the first time, the instrumental opening had me believing I was about to listen to a Spotify ad for a brief moment.  I don’t know if y’all are as cheap as I am, but I’m still rockin’ the free version of Spotify, and the music that tends to come along with the ads is as flashy and vibrant and catchy like the beginning of “Fortune” is – it’s like the audio equivalent of a neon sign, you feel me?  So…to a degree, I can feel it in my bones that “Fortune” is the kind of song that my DNA tries to naturally resist as a guy born Grunge and all…but c’mon…how can any of us resist the groove he’s working with on this song?  That’s exactly WHY it sounded like the start of an advertisement for a second or two – it’s fully loaded with irresistible, universal sound that is bound to appeal and attract the entire lot of us.  With all its references to money and currency, and Soldier Rye’s clever metaphors for what true wealth really entails, “Fortune” has a lot of great lyricism working in its favor, and ultimately, still finds its way to being a love song of sorts when it comes right down to it.  The hooks in this one will grab you one way or the other though – consider yourself warned.  This track is suited for the models on the runway with its exquisite high-end vibes.

He’s on a pretty damn good roll with this record…the material is really strong.  From the uniqueness in tracks like “Our Time Is Born,” or in a song like “Don’t Be Scared Of Love” later on in the set, it really feels like Soldier Rye has really brought his signature sound to another level on Enter Paradise.  “Don’t Be Scared Of Love” might very well be the best song on this record…and I’d even say I feel so strongly about it that it might even be one of the very best in the man’s entire catalog, if not THE best…I mean – I guess you get the point, I am a BIG fan of what he’s created on this cut.  Not only does the music absolutely jam throughout this whole track from start to finish, but the main vocal hook in the chorus is one of those extremely insightful types of songwriting you really have no choice but to admire.  It’s got this half-jazzy, nearly reggae-style beat at the beginning…and that alone, combined with Soldier Rye’s natural Pop inclinations, would have sold me on this track…but it really goes on to be SO MUCH MORE.  Like, even when you get to the chorus for the first time, still on the inside of the song’s first minute, you’ll think you’ve hit the peak of this particular cut – but there is STILL MORE to follow.  Like, how about that stunning synth moment around the 1:40 mark for example?  Absolute brilliance.  And then the way that the surrounding music contrasts so exceptionally well with the tones he’s using in the chorus…honestly, it’s amazing.  Smart breakdown…and then y’all…around the 2:50 mark, where Soldier Rye starts letting the keys have a moment in the spotlight that plays through into the finale, joined by a trumpet that you’ll never get enough of…good gravyboat lighthouse…this song has everything you want.

Tough one to compete with.  I’m no stranger to this game; I know how it goes when you find your favorite track on an album – the next one to follow usually suffers a little as a result.  To be fair to ME though – I’m never really alone in the assessments I make, because that’s how universal sound truly works.  So when I really like something, there’s a massive chance you’ll feel the same way that I do, and you’ll find that the track after we agree on something so concretely, will also share a common assessment as well – we’ll all feel like it was pretty good, but nothing like what we just experienced, most likely.  So…I suppose take it with a grain of salt, because that’s just the nature of the game and it would have been an impossible task for “Alchemist” to reach the same levels of excitement that a song like “Don’t Be Scared Of Love” can generate with its combination of inspired creativity and execution.  Essentially, “things are going as they should go,” and following the nature order of how we listen to music, that’s it, that’s all.  It’s the normal peaks and valleys of listening to a record, which the vast majority of’em have.  All you can ever do, is do what Rye’s done here, which is bring your best to that moment and let the chips fall where they may.  I really like the peaceful & serene tones he’s singing with on “Alchemist” in the verses…it’s got a really soothing quality that I do enjoy.  All-in-all, “Alchemist” has a whole vibe that’s like a combination of Massive Attack with Lemon Jelly, and I’m here for it.  I am sure that there is a good chance it’ll take more than a few spins through this record for “Alchemist” to gets its due share of your attention, but I’m equally confident that it will eventually earn your full approval.

“After The Future” is the real slow-burner of the album…the kind of song that’s highly intriguing and interesting to listen to, and probably not the one you’ll be instantly singing along with, you know what I mean?  Loaded with artistic dimension and depth, you kind of sit back and marvel at the detail in the craft when it comes to “After The Future.”  It’s a different type of listening…maybe that’s what I’m getting at.  Like, the biggest hook you’re going to find in this song is actually in the background vocals, and that’s almost like a brilliant afterthought when it comes to the composition of a song like this – but when you hear’em show up along the way, you’ll know what I’m talking about…it’s an essential ingredient to “After The Future” in the chorus.  He’s leaning hard on his rhyme-scheme here, and it can feel like it in moments around the 1:30 mark where the music spreads out and leaves his vocals right in the center of the spotlight, but his tone is on and he’s singing with style & confidence.  I really enjoyed listening to this song shift between parts and how seamlessly smooth it could be.  Some songs don’t need the same kind of catchy hooks, because the whole song itself is a hook, you dig?  That’s how I feel about the mesmerizing and hypnotic vibes of “After The Future,” and how we drift right along with it.

What do I think about “Endure” as the final track of Enter Paradise?  I appreciate the message at the core of it and admire the resilient spirit Soldier Rye puts on display more than anything else I suppose.  Yeah…I guess it’s mainly the lyrics that I like the most about this finale, and the song itself is alright.  If it wasn’t for the lyrics of this track, I probably wouldn’t be advocating for it as much.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the music, and I don’t mind the vocals either…but it’s kind of a combination of things I’ve heard from Soldier Rye at the same time, and just didn’t feel like it pushed the album any further forward so much as it set us down on a soft and safe landing – make sense?  Sometimes you wanna stick close to the script of what you know works, and there’s never going to be any objections to a song well-made…and so tracks like “Endure” exist and speak strongly on their own behalf, even if we don’t hear them as standouts for this or that reason.  “Endure” is really kind of an audible reflection of the lyricism in that sense…the unbreakable spirit that Soldier Rye is singing about, would easily parallel with a sound like this that’s dependably reliable from the first time you hear it, until the very last spin one day in the future.  Overall, I’m really stoked about the quality of Soldier Rye’s tunes on Enter Paradise – there’s not a doubt in my mind that he’s got some of his very best on this record, and when that’s not what you’re hearing, it’s still another solid track that you’ll enjoy.  Quality stuff all around – great job Rye-Guy.

Find out more about Soldier Rye at the official pages below!

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SoldierRye

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/soldierrye

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@soldierryemusic

Apple Music:  https://music.apple.com/us/artist/soldier-rye/892950631

Linktree:  https://linktr.ee/SoldierRye

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