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Scott Ivey returns, clashing blues and rock with a heavy hint of grunge in a magically immersive groovy new album, Fair Weather Friend. His first album after joining one of the biggest Indie music labels, Spectra Music Group, demonstrates in full force why he won the 2023 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Ivey delivers intense brief anecdotes about femme fatales with ulterior motives, the fickleness of drifting relationships and the power of faith in hopeless times.
Scott Ivey stays true to his lyrically charged songs, with electric bangers like “She’s Lying”. The song begins cool and slow with a twangy tantalizing country chord, almost reflecting his quietly growing doubts about the femme fatale leading his heart, to quickly explode with a roar of beats reflecting his love for blues as he’s coming to terms with the deception he’s ensnared in. Ivey maintains his nostalgic use rock beats as he realizes her ulterior motives. The sound of guitars leads his doubts, using 90s grunge tones that defined previous bangers like “American Beauty”.
In “Grow”, the tone grows more somber with nostalgic country chords narrating the ups and downs of a toxic relationship and ultimately letting go. Ivey sings “I have been down this road before”, regretting the loops of sorrow he’s trying to break away from. The song culminates in a retributive ending as a now accepting Ivey realizes he’s at peace with parting with the past and embracing his inevitable growth, “So just be still and recognize how much you’ve grown”. The album takes a turn to a country grungy tune with the reoccurring timbres of the guitars melting in a twangy groovy melody.
In “Miracle” Ivey again solidifies his love of 90s rock, with a nostalgic ode to the seemingly mundane rituals of lovers, like driving around while realizing the miracle of finding love. The song starts with a sweet chord, reminiscent of Sixpence None the Richer iconic 90s love songs, almost as if Ivey is just starting to realize the depth of his love. The song progresses in a growingly animated ode, with the timbres lashing as his confessions increasingly reveal the depth of his reverence for this miracle. The song maintains a grungy tone, with short slow breaks where the electric guitars give space to acoustic sweet chords. Ivey confesses the depth of his love, ready to reveal “my life’s not worth the time without you”.
The album continues with a blues rock infused anecdote of a fickle friendship, with “Fair-Weather Friend”. The melody narrates the story with resoundingly angry drums and riffs, with Ivey regretting the end of a parting friendship: “And now it’s over before it begun, I miss you, I miss you.” Ivey cleverly slows the song again with a melody of slowed guitars and drums as he reminds his friend of his sacrifices and realizes the futility of their friendship.
In “Feels Like” Ivey wrestles with his knowledge that his love has been betrayed and he must accept it. He sings with his signature grungy tones. As the song reveals a betrayal, riffs get angrier and more colorful, revealing the depths of betrayal. Almost as if Ivey is accepting the reality of the situation, the angry chords give way to a cooler and slower riffs and subtler drums, as Ivey reveals “It’s time to go home”.
The album ends on a redeeming final tone, as Ivey leans on his love of blues and gospel, with “Reaching”. Backed by the soaring gospel voices of a lively uplifting chorus, Ivey finds himself reaching God. The song starts with his doubts, finding himself pushing the way through a cloud of confusion and a loss of faith, “Lord I am reaching, reaching for you.” The song ends the album by showing an Ivey that broke away from his past and is ready to move in faith and hope.
Ivey marks the beginning of a new life and musical career with Spectra, simultaneously experimenting with new sounds but maintaining the iconic sounds that defined his as an expressively unique but nostalgic voice.
Sara Michael