Artist: The Como Brothers Band
EP: Imagination
Production: All words and music by Matt and Andrew Como; Recorded at Germano Studios; Producer/Mixing/Engineer: Graham Marsh; Mastering: Johnny Horesco; Assistant engineer: Jason Staniulis
Fully embracing life’s true emotions isn’t always encouraged among men in society. But those who can completely and nobly accept and proclaim their genuine sentiments about life’s most relatable and heartfelt personal struggles will surely garner attention for their sensitivity, especially by women. The Long Island, New York-based singer-songwriters, Matt and Andrew Como, have done just that with their newly released pop-rock-blues-inspired third EP, ‘Imagination.’ The EP, which also features Matt on the bass and Andrew on the guitar, powerfully showcases their profound music mastery and ease at expressing their feelings, most notably about cherishing the women they’re in romantic relationships with. Along with the help of keyboardist Andy Burton, who has also worked in John Mayer’s band, and Steve Jordan, who was the drummer behind the Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars hit, ‘Uptown Funk,’ ‘Imagination’ is a passionate proclamation of the Como brothers’ deepest personal feelings about love.
The Como brothers, who grew up performing in a Beatles tribute band with their dad and uncle across Long Island, certainly proved they have honed their craft as singer-songwriters-musicians. The experienced performers deserved to record ‘Imagination’ with Grammy Award winning producer Graham Marsh at Germano Studios in New York City, as the producer helped create the EP’s unique six songs that mix such distinct genres as pop, rock and blues.
‘Good Enough For Me,’ the first entry on the alluring ‘Imagination,’ effortlessly proves its worthiness as the EP’s first single. The indie pop song, which begins with a jazz-infused guitar introduction, naturally eases into an intriguing mix of upbeat guitar and keyboards. The cheerful instruments encouragingly support Matt’s vocals, which ponder if it was wrong for him to grow apart from the woman he loves. But as he starts to accept the fact that their relationship was constantly changing from the moment they met, their drifting apart wasn’t her fault. The brothers’ catchy lyrics encourages people who are in similar situations to keep their head up when everything’s falling down. The track also reminds people that they may not have a lot, but that’s good enough, because they should never want to conform their existence to what everyone else is feeling.
The next memorable entry on ‘Imagination’ is ‘Tell You I’m Fine, which is captivatingly sung by Andrew. Beginning with a blues-inspired guitar introduction, the song, which also features soothing drums, questions if it’s right if your heart is still jumping as your love is slipping away. The singer’s lyrics show that he’s trying to act coy as he ponders if it’s also cool if he chooses to hide his own heartbreak. While he adds that he wishes that he can say he’s fine that his romance is ending without looking like a fool, Andrew then admits that running way from the relationship and feelings will only make him lose. As the track also notes that he’s full of an understandably empty feeling, he couldn’t change his rules and beliefs for her. The lyrics instinctively show the relatable pain of not being able to make the relationship work.
Matt next sings on the John Mayer-inspired ‘Chemicals,’ which features a hard rock guitar introduction and vocals. As commendably as the Como brothers try to diversify their lyrics and instrumentals on the EP’s third entry, which encourages listeners to explore their chemistry with the person they feel connected to, they unfortunately failed to make the effort memorable. While the song remains on the same theme of embracing your emotions that infused ‘Imagination’s first two tracks, ‘Chemicals’ unoriginal quality unfortunately makes it forgettable. Matt sings that people can fight their chemistry all they want, but their natural emotions rely on chemicals that make him go crazy. The musician’s assertion that he has feelings he can’t contain, and everything that happens between him and the woman he loves takes a toll on him, disappointingly fails to offer any new insight on how people’s natural connections truly make them feel.
But the Como brothers instantly redeem themselves on the EP’s next song, ‘Make My Heart Move,’ during which Matt once again proves his versatility and value as a singer and lyricist with his sibling. The country-infused instrumental introduction enthrallingly give way to heartfelt lyrics that chronicle how people don’t always know what to do when they’re around the person they care about. Matt grippingly sings that he can’t stop thinking about, or leave, the woman he loves, as she makes his heart move. The musician’s proclamation that the sound of her voice won’t make him stop loving her would surely make the track a hit on adult contemporary charts. The track can also easily be featured on television shows, much like some of the Como brothers’ earlier work has been featured on such reality series as ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ and ‘The Real World.’ The band’s signature vocals and instruments, which were featured on the EP’s first two tracks, easily shine back through on ‘Make My Heart Move,’ reemphasizes Matt’s decision that no one can tell him that he can’t try to be with her.
The Como brothers then introduce the EP’s title track, which is sung by Andrew. ‘Imagination’ features a slower blues-infused instrumental introduction that features an intriguing and soothing mix between Jimi Hendrix-guitar and drums. The song features more dapper, serious and emotional vocals, as Andrew asks if the woman he’s drawn to can love him with just an imagination, which he feels isn’t hard to do. But she insists that she’s leaving, even though he doesn’t want her to end their relationship. Despite his impressive determination, the song’s lyrics do become repetitive in sound, as he continuously states that he’s not waking up from his dream about her, as he wants to hold her forever.
‘Imagination’ ends with another dedication to Hendrix, as Andrew sings a live cover of the famed musician’s track, ‘Bold As Love.’ The song naturally emphasizes mellow emotions, and makes a commendable effort to pay tribute to the ’60s-era musician. The Como brothers’ rock-inspired song is alluringly driven by Hendrix-inspired guitars and drums. But the powerful instruments unfortunately overpower Andrew’s vocals, which makes it disappointingly hard to understand what he’s singing at time.
The overall enticing revelations about maintaining true love that the Como Brothers Band infused into its diverse vocals and instruments on their heartfelt songs on ‘Imagination’ prove what seasoned singers, songwriters and musicians Matt and Andrew Como have developed into. Mixing their love of the blues, pop music and rock n’ roll, the brothers naturally proclaim their genuine sentiments about life’s most relatable personal struggles. The musicians will surely garner attention for their sensitivity on such enticing and memorable entries as ‘Good Enough For Me,’ ‘Tell You I’m Fine’ and ‘Make My Heart Move,’ as they powerfully showcase their profound music mastery and ease at expressing their feelings.
For more information on The Como Brothers Band, visit its official website, as well as its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Watch the Como brothers perform ‘Make My Heart Move’ live below.
Written by: Karen Benardello