CD Review
Ed Roland & The Sweet Tea Project
Devils ‘n Darlins
429 Records
2013
✰✰✰✰
Review: Joseph Suto
Collective Soul frontman Ed Roland formed his latest band Ed Roland & The Sweet Tea Project in 2011. The band came together as Roland would gather friends after gigs and play songs that were outside the Collective Soul parameters. The album entitled Devils ‘N Darlins has been released without much fanfare. If you are not a Collective Soul fan you may not even know of its existence.
The album kicks off with the shortest track on the album, the title cut that starts off slow before a fast paced chorus takes over bringing it to another level. You can hear the influence of Roland’s early days, as the album has a reflective feel. Being a son of a Southern Baptist minister, has clearly influenced songs such as “Going To Birmingham” and “Oh Lord.”
Comparing this to a Collective Soul release would not be fair. The music is quite vast although “Just As I Am,” the standout track from this release may be the closest Roland comes to recalling his aforementioned band. “Enough Nickels,” a slow paced tune takes one back to the southern setting that Roland still currently lives in today.
In this new modern day era of musical genres, it would be hard to stereotype one that this album would fit snugly into. Devils ‘N Darlins is a solid release and while The Sweet Tea Project may seem like a side project Roland doesn’t see it that way. He plans on taking the band on the road over the next two years and building it from the ground up. Seems with this release he has a strong foundation in which to do so.
Track Listing
01. Devils ‘n Darlins
02. Going To Birmingham
03. Oh Lord
04. When It Comes Down To Love
05. Forget About Your Life (For A While)
06. Love Won’t Bring Us Down
07. Already over
08. Enough Nickels
09. Just As I Am
10. Pile Of Pearls
11. Lennon’s Lullaby
