Struck By Lightning Again by DEREK LEE GOODREID is a charismatic and stylish alt-country, americana collection of songs exploring chaos, love, and loss. The album showcases great guitar work, solid and emphatic vocal performances, and a sense of cohesion between the instruments which suggests to me that the group has a significant amount of experience producing alt-country bangers together like this.
The first track, Sinner introduces us to their signature alt-country sound as well as the excellent guitar work, playing in layers, we are introduced to the original melody before several more layers of guitars come in, creating this controlled chaos mirroring the lyrics of the track. "Trouble finds me wherever I am" feels like a fitting match to the wave of guitars playing behind it. The guitars help to build that tension and energy which is then explored fully in the lyrics.
Buggin' Out is another great track that features later on the album. The fast drumming that opens the track and pops up at certain points later through the composition mirrors the anxiety that bugging out represents. It's a nice thematic touch and shows how much the intersection between words and instrumentation was considered when designing the album as a whole. This is another track that shows off the guitar playing ability of GOODREID through a solo towards the 1-minute 15 mark. It explores the motifs the song has laid out in a cathartic way that doesn't distract from other parts of the song.
Ain't it a Shame is my favourite track on the album, as beautiful as it is sad, this song explores lost love with an authenticity that really shows throughout the composition. I like the fact the protagonist sings "Ain't it a shame, cuz my heart still beats for you." It is an awareness and frustration that he can't control his emotions. Acknowledging it would be better if he could let go but still not be able to.
This is a bold and vulnerable song that really feels like it is from the heart and I appreciate that genuine creative drive.
Struck by Lightning Again is a diverse album full of genuine and heartfelt moments that are definitely worth checking out.