RIC TODD
DRAWING LINES
HOMESLICE ARTIST MANAGEMENT
RED LETTER–SOMETHING REAL–NEW RELIGION–WHEN IT COMES AROUND–END OF MY ROPE
Fargo, ND, resident Ric Todd picked up a guitar and began playing and writing at age thirteen, using the cathartic power of music to deal with the pain and confusion of an adolescent confronting his parents’ divorce. His music has always been his way of airing his emotions, and his latest five-song EP, “Drawing Lines,” is no different. He gained notoriety as a multi-instrumentalist with rockers Dirty Word, and takes his composing to the next level with this one.
Ric states that this album came about after the end of the long, cold winter of 2015. The affair is dark and brooding at times, as one can hear in his groove and the material. Leading off is the pounding, punch-in-the-gut defiance of “Red Letter,” while a lover brings about feelings of a “New Religion, every time you put your hands on me,” featuring layered vocals and a quirky guitar fill. A lover who is a constant source of lies is told that “you’ll be sleeping in this bed you made, When It Comes Around.” This one has a biting, early-Tom Petty feel. He closes the set with a heartfelt plea to “lay my burden down,” “End Of My Rope,” with sparse, single-note runs on guitar, and a foreboding, percussive rhythm.
“Drawing Lines” was produced by J. Hall, with a guest appearance by Shane Ochsner of Everything In Slow Motion fame. With this set, Ric Todd has created a fine set of bluesy, from-the-soul baring of his deepest emotions. Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.
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