I have tried vehemently to avoid it.  I have attempted every angle imaginable to start this review, only to hit the delete button and once again face a blank white screen with the cursor blinking, mocking me. The bottom line: Blue Merle’s vocalist Luke Reynolds unashamedly manages to plagiarize Coldplay’s Chris Martin, throughout their major label debut “Burning In The Sun.” This is not a new revelation.  Almost every review you will read makes a mention of this. I tried to avoid the herd mentality, think outside of the box, and approach it from a different angle but I fell victim to the inescapable.

This four-piece recently gone five-piece after adding violinist Luke Bulla to the mix, plays a blend of folk, pop, and rock with a mandolin and fiddle both featured instruments, and a sound akin to The Dave Matthews Band. The opening title track sums up what the listener can expect for most of “Burning In The Sun” as the acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, drums and shaker set the backdrop for the vocals of Reynolds.  It is very unlikely you will be able to pay attention to the instrumentation because Reynolds vocals are so distracting it takes precedent over whatever the band is doing.  The piano tinged ballad “Every Ship Must Sail Away” makes a strong showing but lyrically falls flat.  This seems to be the case for much of the lyrical framework found throughout “Burning In The Sun.”  The guitar and mandolin driven “Places” manages to have a life of its own and is arguably the brightest spot on “Burning In The Sun.”  The album quietly closes out with “Bittersweet Memory” and it almost has a country feel to it, with the fiddle weaving in and out, beneath the electric guitar and mandolin. 

“Burning In The Sun” staggers between frustrating and mundane. There is obvious talent found in the core of Blue Merle but everything is safely done.  The song structures are simplistic, the dynamics are almost non-existent, the lyrics are elementary, and the vocals are a diversion, yet there are moments on “Burning In The Sun” where Blue Merle does shine.  If you are looking for something with beauty, substance, oh, and a mandolin, go pick up a Nickel Creek album, trust me.