The Sean Shiff Project – “For A Friend”

The Sean Shiff Project – “For A Friend” – Single Review

Interesting.

While I’d never say that I fall on the side of the argument that will tell you everything has all been done, I’ve also heard enough songs throughout my lifetime, that when I’m hearing most new ones, I can usually figure out which direction they’re gonna take with their melodies and chord progressions pretty quickly.  When I popped on “For A Friend” by The Sean Shiff Project and heard how it began, I thought there was going to be a high probability of them sticking close to the “Stand By Me” type script, and was pleasantly surprised to find them shift just enough away from that so that it wasn’t nearly as predictable as I thought it might be.  In any event, the bass lines in this tune were right where I’d wanna find’em, the guitar chimed in and broke through in the mix at all the right spots, and the drums were solidly reliable.

Musically, “For A Friend” sounded completely like something I’d be happy to listen to on any given day.  Vocally, I have no real concerns with the sound of singer Nikki Lemire’s voice…I think she has some decent highlights in singing the melody of “For A Friend” and tends to shine brightest she’s harmonizing with herself along the way.  In the more bare-bones moments where she’s singing in an isolated lead with just the one track, she’s good…I suppose I just felt like she really found her strength with a double-track and the right consistency for her voice is all.  As for the lyricism & such…that’s a harder subject to broach.  I don’t really have a dog in this fight not being a religious person, and “For A Friend” is very much geared towards the faith-based community overall.  I was raised with religious values and I went to church throughout my early childhood, so don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of experience with the community itself, and of course I also end up listening to tons of faith-based tunes through doing what I do here as well.  To me, there are religious tunes that are able to bridge the gap between those that believe and those that don’t by approaching the theme with a more ambiguous or abstract style, and then there are songs like this one that are essentially preaching to the choir and you can’t escape the Jesus-y part of what’s goin’ on.  Nothing wrong with that of course, everyone is always welcome to believe what they wanna believe, but in terms of how far a song can travel and where it can go, the more specific the topic is in any regard whether it’s religion or otherwise, the narrower the audience becomes.  In a case like this, as much as I might like the melody, the vocals, and the music, the words aren’t designed for a heathen beast like myself, and it’d be tougher to revisit it in the future as a result.  Of course, if you’re in the faith-based community, you’d feel completely the opposite way and you’d have yourself a shiny new tune to turn up…and if that’s you, you know what I always say – have at’er.

Outside of the specific Jesus references, of which there are many, the good values of religion that I’d readily say I still believe in are threaded into the lyricism of this tune, and that’s a positive for sure.  I’ve got no issues with the idea of loving your neighbor, being polite, courteous, and respectful…all of these things are crucial elements of how we should be treating each other whether we’re religious or not.  I also liked how there are more relevant, thought-provoking concepts, like what the relationship between a person and God should potentially be like, and pointing out shortcomings in lines like “I know I only call you in time of need,” for example.  That’s kinda how it goes, ain’t it?  Even those that aren’t religious tend to put those hands of their together tightly when things get tough, just in case, right?  I also liked how The Sean Shiff Project points out that Jesus likely wouldn’t have been treated all that great by the society we’re living in currently, due to skin color and modern-day political policies and such, going as far as to point out the dude probably would have been deported if He were around today.  Wild to think about, but again, relevant and real…if that hasn’t occurred to you by now and you’re a supporter of the things happening out there in the world right now, you might want to check your understanding of The Bible.

So…yeah…I mean, it’s catchy.  It’s a little on the Sunday school side of the spectrum for my own personal taste, but that only means there’s a whole lot of dedicated religious folks that’ll be super happy about what they hear in this latest offering from The Sean Shiff Project.  It becomes a niche tune in the sense that it’s so focused and direct in what’s being communicated, but the melody could still be universal enough to at least keep listeners outside of the faith-based community listening…I wouldn’t rule it out.  At the end of the day, it’s well played & well sung, and anytime that’s the case you give yourself a shot at being heard.  For those out there seeking His comforts and His guidance, you’ll get that much more out of it I’m sure, but for the rest of us, you’ll find that “For A Friend” still has its heart & moral compass in the right place.

Find out more about The Sean Shiff Project at Facebook here:  https://www.facebook.com/seanshiffmusic

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