It takes a LOT to compel me to sit down and hammer out a review. “Salt,” the new EP from Denver by way of Texas singer-songwriter Bryce Menchaca did just that.
It’s Saturday morning. I’m busy following up on emails and reading my morning news and newsfeeds. I put on Spotify’s Release Radar, which for me will be 99% Colorado based music. Bryce Menchaca‘s “Flower Painted Black” starts playing. I know his name. I’ve listened to earlier releases. His voice immediately draws me into his world.
Last February, I was given access to an as yet unfinished version of “Cleaning Up,” the first single and video that came out in May. As I’ve been since first hearing about Bryce, I was impressed. The song fuses classic pop sensibilities and nuances from the do-wop and early rock and roll eras to modern indie folk pop and neo-country-soul.
The CU DENVER Music & Entertainment Industry Studies (MEIS) student comes to Denver by way of San Antonio, Texas, where his seventh generation roots extend to the founding of his home state. Over the past couple of years he’s put out a few singles that have showcased his considerably smooth voice and emerging skills as a songwriter and arranger.
His songwriting prowess is undoubtedly due to studying Commercial Songwriting as part of his college curriculum, something he says “doesn’t necessarily represent my own experiences or perspectives, it strengthens me as a songwriter. …it forces me into a position of empathy which enhances my own songwriting.” It’s abundantly clear to me that he deserves an A for what is one of the best of 2023.
“Salt” settles in with the second cut, “Flower Painted Black,” the single that showed up in my Release Radar. Bryce’s style drops subtle hints of the acoustic pop songwriting and harmonies of Lennon & McCartney and other purveyors of the style in the sixties, along with some very nicely played acoustic guitar. The Beatles are an obvious though beautifully and thoughtfully subdued influence throughout the EP.
In it, Bryce wonders fully: “Maybe it’s me, maybe I’m to blame. Hypocrisy the cork of champagne, holding onto every little thing.“
Two hours later the final cut, “Ghost,” resonates one last time through my headphones, where I went from my studio monitors after three listens. Bryce sees himself in the image of a ghost “living inside my home, and he’s going broke.” The ghost informs him of the things he hasn’t been able to pray for or realize.
Bryce Menchaca’s voice throughout resonates emotionally, not with anguish but with near resignation. His expressiveness is subtle and clear. He is, undeniably, going through something in his life – either personally or as an outside looking in songwriter, that position of empathy.
“Salt” as a title brings two things into play. Online, SALT stands for Single and Loving It.” Salt is also a mineral, one that stings when applied to wounds, such as those embodied in the songs on this nicely paced five song, nineteen minute release – and one that can make an unpleasant situation even worse by amplifying one’s failures and faults. I’ll leave the final meaning up to you to discern.
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