WILL HOGE

Even If It Breaks Your Heart

2009-09-02

Being compared to the legendary Tom Petty isn't a bad place to be for the Franklin, TN born Will Hoge. In fact, "Long Gone" is guitar-driven, southern rock inspired song that easily brings Mr. Petty to mind. Nevertheless, Hoge is his own here too, on this his 4th studio release, as he mixes together a nice combo of what most would classify as straightforward American rock with a layer of folk, blues and soul mixed in as well. The first single from the new album Even if it Breaks Your Heart, is called "The Wreckage." This is a soft and down-tempo love song about a relationship gone awry - a characteristic of many of the songs here. Some other standout tracks include the opener, "Hard to Love," in which Hoge laments: "It's hard to love, but it's easy to hold you right by me." A couple of songs well deserving of a few spins are the title track, as well as the other noteworthy favorite and aptly named, "Favorite Waste of Time" - a faster moving song that rocks from beginning to end. While it's true that there's nothing truly fancy here, what Hoge has recorded are a strong collection of songs that really are a pleasure to listen to from beginning to end. ~Reviewed by Jeff Bouma

Quick Links:

• Official Will Hoge Website
• Will Hoge on Myspace