Working in the music journalism profession, it’s not uncommon to hear people stating that ‘rock music is dead’. Whilst the rock genre doesn’t seem to be as prominent in the mainstream at the moment, there are still many bands and artists out there successfully creating their own tunes, proving that rock is still live and kicking One such artist is Eye of TJ…

Review by Jane Howkins

As you might have guessed, Eye of TJ is a musical project created by TJ himself, who acts as the main creative outlet for the project. There are five wonderful songs contained within his emotive EP Knowing the Risk, seeing TJ muster up a great deal of passion and courage. I should also point out that Eye of TJ’s music has quite a country-rock/southern rock edge to it, which understandably won’t appeal to everyone reading this – however, it all still makes for a fantastic listen, even if these songs aren’t quite to your usual taste.

First up we have Backroad Serenade as the opener, starting quietly with some lovely little electric guitar arpeggios, alongside the strummed acoustic guitar chords. The song starts out quietly, allowing TJ’s vocals to really shine, before the rest of the instrumentation kicks in on the chorus. Another thing you’ll soon notice is that TJ seems to have a penchant for creating catchy choruses with and emotional feel, and Backroad Serenade is no exception, drawing you in straight away. Towards the end, the final chorus dissipates, enabling the track to fade out as quietly as it began.

Headlights in the Drive has a similar structure to it, featuring some really interesting guitar melodies on the verses. The guitarwork is particularly nice throughout, but the little riffs that emerge at the tail-end of the chorus sound truly epic. TJ has an extremely strong voice across the entire EP, but it’s on Headlights in the Drive that his vocals truly stand out, displaying a wealth of passion that is often missing from the modern rock scene.

Knowing the Risk makes for a bit of a change-up, also being the mid-way point of the EP. Instead of the slow start that the previous two tunes had, Knowing the Risk emerges abruptly with a faster beat and tempo, making you want to get up and dance straight away. However, despite the fact that this song is more upbeat than the ones that came before, it’s still not a particularly ‘happy’ sounding song, – both in terms of the lyrical content and the chord sequences used.

Most of the songs on Knowing the Risk have a country bent to them, but nowhere is this more obvious than on Nothing Lasts Forever. Country-rock is sometimes criticised for being a little too cliche, often due to its lyrical content. However, when TJ belts the lyrics out to the chorus on this track, it’s immediately apparent that he’s an effective and authentic singer-songwriter, avoiding the common curse that can sometimes plague acts of this genre.

The last song on the EP is Back to Me, starting out with a strummed acoustic guitar that underpins TJ’s glorious vocal stylings. However, whilst Back to Me is more of a ballad than the songs that came before it, it still has a rock and roll edge, as TJ’s vocals soar over the music in perfect style.

Overall, Knowing the Risk is a fantastic piece of work for those into their country-rock music, so make sure you keep a close watch on TJ’s social media pages for any live dates or new releases. The style of music won’t be for everyone, and it can seem slightly repetitive at times, but if you’re searching for a country-rocker with a high degree of authenticity, you won’t go wrong with Eye of TJ!

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