Zechariah Lloyd is an singer-songwriter and musician based out of Mississippi, who recently won the 2022 Mississippi Songwriter of the Year Award, showing just how talented he is! I had the chance to check out his new EP, Heart In A Notebook, finding myself suitably impressed by the content on offer here!
By Jane Howkins
Down To The River is the first track on the EP, having a blues rock sound from the off. I found myself reminded of the classic rock movement of the 60s and 70s, with groovy riffs colliding with an organ and the rest of the instrumentation in style. Zechariah’s raw vocals suit the genre of music perfectly and the lyrics have that classic storytelling vibe that suits the blues movement so well.
Waste These Days starts out a little slower, with a spaghetti western style guitar melody opening the song up. The percussion has quite a unique sound, having an echoed quality at times. The stripped-down nature of the track allows Zechariah’s vocals to truly shine through, making his lyrics well worth listening to, drawing the listener into this musician’s world. The chorus brings things up a little, having a beautiful main melody.
Don’t Cry For Me is another slower song, although the tempo does rise up on the chorus a little. It’s quite a pretty sounding track – the verses have a breakdown occasionally, allowing Zechariah’s vocals to remain the focus of the song, with the bass, guitars and drums providing a nice backbone to the piece. The vocals hit some high notes at times, showing a much greater vocal range than is heard on the previous songs.
Ain’t It Strange opens as an acoustic track, starting out with a fingerpicked acoustic guitar melody. The vocals sound a little distant here, almost playing in the background behind the guitar lines, before the drums kick in and the song starts proper. The electric guitars have a really unique sound to them, sounding palm-muted before they spiral off as the chorus starts.
Title track Heart In A Notebook is another song that starts out with an acoustic guitar, although the percussion arrives pretty quickly. The tempo never really changes much here, but it’s great to hear a softer sound to Zechariah’s music, seeing his vocals drift over the guitar lines in style. The backing effects work wonders here, adding a sense of atmospheric beauty to the music.
Heart In A Notebook displays a range of different styles, making Zechariah Lloyd’s music sound very distinctive in the modern world. If you’re into folk, blues, classic rock or Americana, there should be something here for you!
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