Hailing from Australia, Conrad Sewell is a 34 year old singer songwriter from Brisbane. Ego is the latest release from this album, which is actually the first collection of works he has released in nearly 3 years. He has an impressive CV as an artist, but he has also collaborated with some exceptional talents from around the world and commands great respect from those who work with him. 

Ego as a title gives plenty of ambiguity, but actually as the lyrics flow through the song, this is a humble song and one where you can hear the learning that takes place from life’s lesson, which at times can be quite tough! We can sense that when fame or fortune suddenly arrives in a young artist's life, it can be hard to digest and process it all and very often you can become a caricature of the Ego you create. With experience on his side, Conrad Sewell is warning us of these potential issues and how he has developed as a person. 

What struck me first with this track is Sewell’s voice. It’s soulful, yet delicate when it needs to be. He has passion in his delivery and can really carry a pop/soul fusion song that Ego certainly is. There are intricacies within the chord progression, wonderful layered backing features with organs, piano and a smooth bass that carries the instrumentation throughout. This is a fairly long song by modern standards, but that doesn’t matter one bit, because the arrangement and craftsmanship of the final product will make you want to hear more and more.

Author: Phil Arnold

Phil Arnold is a musician, producer and music reviewer from Devon, in the South West of England. Whilst not writing music reviews, Phil also writes and records under the name of Ugbrooke.