Jordan Dean – ‘Local’ EP Review
Jordan Dean is an artist that writes for himself in a way that connects anyone to him whenever you through a song of his on. If I were you, I’d keep him in your rotation if you ever want to feel like someone writes for you because “they get it”.
Cleveland’s Jordan Dean takes his acoustic roots and love of The Kooks and Arctic Monkeys to deliver his various points of view with a sound made to feel like he gets you. Dean writes from a perspective where not only is he trying to communicate with the listener, he’s communicating with his past self. With the release of his latest EP “Local” back on March 12th, the songs feel like when “the morning after” thoughts start to roll in. Whether of regret, longing for something, or knowing when to move forward, this EP sums it up.
Jordan’s home ‘locale’ influences his work in a more intrinsic way, as he told us in our interview; “{Cleveland} is not New York or Los Angeles, it doesn’t have that same mystique about it, so I think that helps me stay grounded and not overly dramatic in my songwriting. The people and environment I grew up around are also big inspirations for my songs so I don’t think I would have the same inspirations had I lived somewhere else”
Clocking in just under seventeen minutes, “Local” features such stellar songs as the title track itself, with Dean reminiscing on late-light shenanigans with lyrics like “took six shots and I skipped dinner” while being cognizant of those around him. Another notable track is “Rabbit Hole”, a metaphor for going through the same day-in-day-out struggles in a relationship. The EP concludes with “Friend”, having that person in your life to go to when going through any trials and tribulations.
As Jordan states about his work; “The whole EP was kind of a crossroads for me in terms of songwriting. The earlier songs on the EP were written with just me and an acoustic guitar, but some of the later ones I was making, I was keeping in mind the full sound of a band. My songwriting has since moved more in the direction of the latter and that’s what people will hear moving forward.”
Jordan Dean is an artist that writes for himself in a way that connects anyone to him whenever you through a song of his on. If I were you, I’d keep him in your rotation if you ever want to feel like someone writes for you because “they get it”.