“Live It All” tells the story of personal struggles and triumphs, with each song drawing on different emotions and experiences. From the uplifting opener “There With You” to the reflective “Red,” the album showcases the band’s versatility and depth as songwriters. There’s a depth to each piece, a sense of soulfulness that’s exuberant and also evocative from back to front. Red Bird finds an amalgamation of sounds, an eclectic and expressive force that anchors itself around soul with sprinkles of genres all around it to add to its scale and vigour all around.
What’s most impressive about this album is its ability to instil in you this sense of gratefulness and belief in the life we’ve been given. Lead vocalist Bre Gregg’s soaring vocals are a standout feature of the album, and her emotive delivery brings a powerful energy to the tracks. The band, which is made up of Bre Gregg, Dan Gildea on guitar, Jeff Langston on bass, and Charlie Doggett on drums, work together seamlessly to create a cohesive and dynamic sound.
There’s also something endearing or at the very least appealing to me when music is made for the sake and purpose of pedestalising the concept of living itself. The album’s themes revolve around the idea of living in the moment and cherishing the people and experiences that matter most in life. The lyrics are raw, vulnerable, and relatable, and the band’s musicianship is evident in every track.
Of course, the album is bound to draw affection from any soul rock fan. From Bre Gregg’s vocals alone, any soul fan is bound to find something to adore across this nine track record. But really, it’s the whole package that you see yourself finding moments and individual pieces to add to playlists. There’s just so much life across this album, perhaps obviously so considering it is a celebration of life itself.
When things feel bleak, just playing this through back to front is bound to give you some inspiration or at the very least some faith in the conception of life’s small things. There’s something redemptive about it, something innovative, and something explorative. From the more soothing pieces like “Beautiful” to the more sumptuously smooth pieces like the title track, there’s also not a moment of boredom or a lull to be had.
This is soul rock re-invented and reignited with a passion and dexterity like few can compare to.