Opinion: Lacey Sturm’s ‘Life Screams’ revives hard rock genre
Tiara Holt reviews former Flyleaf lead vocalist Lacey Sturm’s debut solo album “Life Screams.”
Creative Commons- Opal Hood's image on Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lacey_Sturm_(Flyleaf).jpg
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Former Flyleaf lead vocalist Lacey Sturm debuted her first solo album “Life Screams” last Friday, and within a day, it rose to #1 on iTunes’ Top 40 U.S. Rock Albums Chart. As much as I liked Sturm in Flyleaf, I couldn’t fathom how she beat out other artists such as David Bowie and the Eagles. I still don’t agree with that, but after listening to this piece that features lyrical themes of faith, internal struggles and love combined with a hard rock edge, it’s not hard to see why she did.
The first track and lead single “Impossible” kicked the album off to a solid start. Contrary to the title, the song is about witnessing all of the pleasant and too good to be true wonders of the world. With its catchy guitar riff and hypnotic bass, this song is definitely impossible to dislike. Another track, “Rot”, can only be described as a song equivalent to a powerful thunderstorm, with a headbanging sound along with an aura of darkness. Succeeding the highly poetic one minute and 47 second “Vanity,” “Rot” served as a message of preserving in a frightening, dread filled world.
Changing course from the louder, more powerful sounds of the previous songs, the Christian influenced “You’re Not Alone” follows after with a contrasting, softer opening with lyrics about battling depression and receiving emotional support from a higher power’s eternal love.
The album also features a live cover of The Police’s “Roxanne” in true Lacey form with her soft, wispy voice transitioning into a powerful scream towards the chorus.
With every song, you feel as if you’re listening to Sturm read from her personal diary, and she certainly comes into her own with this new album, incorporating the Flyleaf-inspired, instrumental sound from the past with her powerful songwriting and newfound experiences of the future. I can honestly say that this is one of the best albums I’ve heard so far this year, and I can’t wait to see what else she has in store.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Featured image by Opal Hood via Wikimedia Commons, obtained using creativecommons.org
The opinion of our writers/bloggers are not a reflection of the opinion of the Tennessee Journalist as a whole.
Edited by Taylor Owens
Tiara Holt is a senior at the University of Tennessee majoring in Journalism and Electronic Media with a minor in Cinema Studies. Aside from being a rock music enthusiast and food lover, her pastimes include drawing, painting, reading and watching The X-Files.
