Bradley Hathaway - A Thousand Angry Panthers

Artist: Bradley Hathaway
Album: A Thousand Angry Panthers
Release Date: 6/1/10
Label: Independent

Songwriting can make all the difference in an artist's work. Good writing can result in popularity and good recognition, where bad writing can get you nowhere. In this case, we have Bradley Hathaway, easily one of the best songwriters out there today. The acoustic singer-songwriter music that he plays is undoubtedly captivating and just shows his talent. The release of his new EP, titled A Thousand Angry Panthers marks some of his best work yet and possibly the peak of his career, that in fact, started off as spoken word poetry.

The music and songwriting on A Thousand Angry Panthers is heart-wrenching, being some of the most emotional music that I've heard in a while that really hits right to the heart. The opening song, "She Was Raised By a Man With a Sickness," doesn't fail to show this, with the delicate vocals from Hathaway, whose voice seems to be perfect for setting the mood, sounding very emotional itself. "Carolina" takes on more of a ballad form, complete with something of a small, dreary guitar solo towards the end.

"Would You Think Less of Me" is a song that recalls a life story of leaving loved ones and the pain of death and saying goodbye. The highlight and easily one of the strongest songs from Bradley Hathaway to date is the closer, "The World Is Screaming." The lyrics are great, with lines such as "He came in the manger, He was born in the stable and He did what no man before Him was able." There is also a constant acoustic guitar being strummed behind the vocals. The music to the song is great to, going beyond the acoustic stature and expanding to what sounds a full band effort, complete with the pounding drums that close out A Thousand Angry Panthers ever so nicely.

Rating: 9/10 You haven't heard heart-wrenching, emotional songwriting until you've heard Bradley Hathaway. His newest effort A Thousand Angry Panthers shows a point in his music where he is at his best, musically and lyrically. I would recommend that anyone give this a listen, as you are missing something quality without doing so.

Tracklisting:

1. She Was Raised By a Man With a Sickness
2. Carolina
3. Would You Think Less of Me
4. The World Is Screaming

(Buy Here)