"I Believe in Everything" by SPEAK
“I Believe in Everything,” SPEAK (Modern Art/Atlantic)
Anything can, and does, come out of Austin, the Texas city whose vibrant music scene isn’t limited to outlaw country and hard-nose rock. So it isn’t surprising that SPEAK’s roots are in Austin; the surprise is that the group exists at all.
Frontman Troupe Gammage has fashioned an improbable sort of 1980s British synth-pop deep in the heart of Texas. He’s a bit of a Howard Jones with his bright voice and unsophisticated keyboards, though he has the support of a traditional rock band (guitarist Nick Hurt, bassist Joey Delahoussaye and drummer Jake Stewart).
Gammage and company are disarming from the get-go on their full-length debut, “I Believe in Everything,” rolling out with New Wave style on the mid-tempo opening cut “Wars,” where the singer warns, “I’m not afraid to fight at all, but if you won’t back off, this is war.”
SPEAK goes on to tap into the buoyant buzz of “Carrie,” where a slapping beat supports Gammage as he sings with infectious directness and arcing splendor.
Other noteworthy cuts include the squeaky electro-pop “You Know As Well As I” (that gives birth to the lyric, “I believe in everything”), the creative “A Little Way” (that tethers fidgety energy to a lullaby loop) and the waltzing “81” (that soars with stately grandiloquence).
Unfortunately, there are clunkers: SPEAK is prone to build slapdash songs (“I’d Rather Lie,” “Firecracker”) and drive their clamoring sound into shrill cacophony (“Too Afraid,” “Louder”).
Good thing Gammage has all that charisma.
Rating: 3-1/2
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