The Album

This is an extra special review, because today I’m reviewing A Galaxy Far, Far Away by Brian Ross! We know and love him as Draco and the Malfoys, but Brian loves Star Wars so much that he put out this album on December 1, 2020. Therefore, the special part of this review is that it’s not wizard rock! This is… space rock? Star Wars rock? All twelve songs on the album were written and performed by Brian, and he (along with Jill Sebacher) also designed the album artwork! Other musicians in this album are as follows:

J. Ferguson: Bass
Brad Mehlenbacher: Drums, Vocals
Matt Maggiacomo: Guitar
Emma Ross: Flute
Benjamin Ross: Trombone

Let’s blast off into our first ever non-wrock review!

 

The Tracks

Indeed, we do blast off in the very first song, Blasting Out of Mos Eisley. I can tell you right away, this song is a bop. A jam. A banger. Whatever your preferred phrase, this song is incredible. From Anakin’s point of view, Brian takes us through the story of how Anakin leaves home and what he needs to do: keep movin’ on. Halfway through the song, we get a sweet guitar solo, which transitions into a softer bridge before it builds up and rocks back into the chorus. I can really hear the excitement and passion Brian has for this project in his vocal performance in this song, which translates to the rest of the album.

I’m Kylo Ren is a humorous and satirical song about the weird things Kylo Ren does. This song had me smiling and laughing all the way through.

With a bluesy intro to the next song, we swing into Droids Ain’t Welcome. This song is very catchy and I caught myself snapping along right away. I love the background vocals and harmonies (you know I love me some good harmonies). I would love to see this song turned into a dance along music video.

I was blown away by the percussive intro to the next song, The Force Will Be With You. Brad continues to impress. I would highly recommend listening to this song any time you need a pick-me-up or need a “you got this!” vibe. I got a lot of positive energy out of these lyrics. I would be remiss not to also mention the jamming guitar instrumentals in this song as well, so shout out to Matt! We get more hype near the end of the song with a key change, and the song ends strongly. This is such a great anthem.

We chill out a little bit in Come With Me. A quiet guitar strumming and Brian’s soft vocals start the song. Near the end, we get a hint of a John William’s riff in the instrumentals, which I really appreciated. Will you go over to the dark side after listening to this song? I hear they have cookies!

Alderaan Wind is up next as a slow waltz. The lyrics reminisce about how much beauty there was in Alderaan before it was destroyed by the Death Star. This song is sweet and longing, and I was swaying along to it the whole time.

From Aleraan wind to Tatooine sands, we jump right into the next song, Leia Lead On. The bass really stuck out to me as a big driving force. If you didn’t think Leia was a badass before this song, you certainly will be convinced after listening to it.

We travel next to Cloud City. I would blast this in my space car with the windows down for sure. This song gives me summer nights vibes and I absolutely love it.

You Must Be a God made me laugh, not only because of the lyrics, but because of the background vocals. “Porch porch” had me snorting. If you need a laugh while also listening to an amazing song, this is the one for you. Even if you don’t need a laugh, do yourself a favor and listen to this song anyway.

I really love Put Your Mask Back On because it was exactly what I hoped it would be. Benjamin Ross comes in hot with an incredible trombone solo. The lyrics in this song are very clever, not only with the topic of the song but also with intricate rhymes.

Monster in the Trash Bin is a short, high energy, repetitive song. I appreciated the lead and background vocals particularly.

The album comes to a close with the song You Can’t Let Your Good Friends Down. Melancholy and calming, we travel to the freezing planet of Hoth and learn that sometimes to save a man, a tauntaun has to die. We finally get our long-awaited flute instrumental by Emma Ross in a haunting and indescribably beautiful flute solo. This song was a lovely way to end an amazing album.

In Summary

It is clear that Brian and the other musicians put so much effort, soul, and energy into this album. The vocals, harmonies, instrumentals, and production that went into this album are all amazing. Even though I’m not a big Star Wars fan, I genuinely loved every single song. I highly recommend giving this album a listen, even if you don’t understand all the references, or haven’t seen some (or any) of the movies. I give this album a C3PO out of R2D2!