Colton plays with melodic indie-pop smarts, but he also shows prowess as a storyteller. On “Born to Raise Hell”, Colton chronicles a West Illinois-based man ever since his troubled childhood, when his “mother put thoughts in his head, monsters in bed, his stepfather made him cry.” His adulthood isn’t much better; he leaves his wife for some girl in the bar, and proceeds to live a downtrodden life of robbing grocery stores. It’s a song about how rough beginnings often lead to rough endings, where cavernous hearts and dusty taverns make for some heartbreaking narratives. Of course, over all this there is a fluttering pop melody with rich orchestration and polished production, a blend of several good things that make Graham Colton a songwriter that won’t be easily forgotten, unlike the vibrant characters in his songs.
