Tyler Ballgame – For The First Time, Again

Tyler Ballgame’s recent rise to prominence may have been extraordinarily rapid, but it’s worth noting that his earlier fall—back when he went by his birth name, Tyler Perry—was both profound and prolonged. His journey took him from the hallowed halls of Berklee College of Music to his parents’ basement in Rhode Island, where the college dropout struggled with depression, poor motivation, and body image issues.

The support of an inspirational counsellor (Courtney Huard, who was tragically killed by her husband in a murder-suicide) led to an impulsive move to Los Angeles, one made by many aspiring talents before him. But Perry had something unique in his locker that would set him apart: his truly generational voice.

Tyler Perry, Berklee student, reportedly performed a stripped-back blend of introspective indie-folk. In contrast, Tyler Ballgame—a character of sorts, designed to help Perry shed his performative inhibitions—sings like he’s possessed by the ghosts of the entire Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Roy Orbison, chiefly. There are flashes of Tim Buckley, Harry Nilsson, and even Elvis at times.

For The First Time, Again is dramatic—Ballgame’s teenage experiences in music theatre are an obvious influence—but to accuse him of “cosplaying” or engaging in “pastiche,” as early critics have done, feels unduly harsh. I recall having a similar reaction to another Jonathan Rado-produced retro-focused act, The Lemon Twigs, when I first heard them. I dropped my cynical sneer after the quality of that band’s songwriting proved my instincts wrong, and I wasn’t prepared to make the same mistake with Ballgame.

Realistically, it comes down to style and taste. Critics rarely take a shot at a post-punk band for imitating the sounds of the late 1970s. Last year’s breakout stars Geese draw on an extremely heavy Rolling Stones influence, and I never heard them written off as copycats. I don’t think they are, by the way—I’m just highlighting the double standards. And if you could sing like Roy Orbison, and do so on exquisitely written songs like “Down So Bad,” don’t tell me you’d opt to make a jarring noise-rock record instead.

Selecting highlights feels like a fool’s errand. Ballgame’s ballads (“You’re Not My Baby Tonight,” “Goodbye My Love”) soar gracefully, his soulful vocal somehow compressing the pain of his lost years into note-perfect falsettos. Another, “Deepest Blue,” which Ballgame has confessed is his version of an Adele song, drips with nostalgic longing for a love he’s unsure he’ll ever experience.

The higher-tempo numbers are equally effective. The confident stomp of “Matter of Taste” reminds me a little of The Tallest Man of Earth’s “King of Spain,” while “I Believe In Love,” with its sumptuous horns, sees Ballgame justifying his own sincerity (“I believe in love and that’s fine”). The swaggering closer “Waiting So Long” isn’t quite as impactful, although it does weirdly evoke the  sole high point (it’s all relative, right?) of the Doug Yule-fronted Velvet Underground, “Little Jack.”

I wonder if we still worry too much about authenticity, sincerity, and originality sometimes. While poptimism heralded a refreshingly open approach to pop music, its proponents often hold more retro-minded artists to a different standard. Father John Misty, who coats his stylistic homages in a layer of irony, seems to get a free pass, while the persistence of The Lemon Twigs has helped them earn theirs. On For The First Time, Again, Tyler Ballgame tells us he can only sing how he feels. Perhaps, when faced with such wholesome beauty, we’d do best to drop our guards and simply feel what he sings?

For The First Time, Again is out now via Rough Trade.