Tears Dry, the latest release from the BluesTones at James Madison University, has caused a bit of a conundrum when trying to adequately encapsulate the emotional, artistic, and critical rollercoaster in my brain. The group has put out sometimes interesting, sometimes engaging, rarely intriguing, yet breathtaking music all in its own right, but really in small single doses. It's so confusing, calming, and clear all at once. Yeah.

The answer may lie in this notion — is it because the group seems to think that the whole album is on the same caliber as Mixer, Tennessee Whiskey and Back To Black? These three tracks have the greatest ability at holding one's attention for the duration of the song — none of the others really comes close to achieving this feat. None of them is horrible by any means, they are just fairly plebian in either construction, delivery, or both (I Don't Need A Man). Most of the tracks would stand on their own pretty well if this was simply a compilation of singles. But it isn't and that's what keeps the overall recording from being excellent.

Take the opening track I Want Love, which starts out like gangbusters. Energetic, harmonic, full of "rizz" vim and verve ... and then it simply plods along losing steam as we lose our seconds listening to it. There is also an ill-advised attempt at either a key change or a dynamic crescendo and neither is accomplished at the 2:54 mark (according to Spotify). Simply cutting this last minute of the song would have made it so much better.

It may seem like I'm using overly harsh imagery to describe the album to you. Maybe? But that's also because these performers are pretty brilliant and can hold up against this level of scrutiny. And as an entity, they have been for most of the two decades that I've been listening to them. And so, with that pedigree comes a great deal of expectation. And they aren't quite delivering with Tears Dry. Now, on their worse day, the BluesTones are better than an average group, so while perchance I'm sounding a bit austere in the criticism, the album is very much worth a listen or 10 or 100. The blend is impeccable, the percussion is significantly alluring at times, and the production is stellar. There are just too many seemingly "rookie" mistakes in breath support and arranging skills that seem a little off for this album. From just a listening endeavor, it is highly enjoyable — especially when each track is taken individually, but as a critical whole, the release falters.

Tears Dry is certainly the best release I've heard from the BluesTones, a recording that is equal parts commanding and stylish.

While reviewing the BluesTones' 2019 release Speak On It, I wrote about "backgrounds that are a bit thin, a bit gentle". Not so for Tears Dry — get ready for thickly lush backgrounds and tight harmonies that completely fill out the space. It's such a delightful sonic difference! Also filling out the backgrounds are rhythmic vocal lines that complement the solid vocal percussion; doubly effective! Listen to this approach on the group's showy opener, I Want Love.

But the real proclamation of power for Tears Dry is the soloists, all of whom are so enchanting they are certified spellcasters. I'd love to see the campus auditions that garner this many unique solo acts; this whole thing is like discovering a little blues bar off the highway that somehow attracts every headliner in the region. And the depth — huge vocal ranges, colorings, and approaches — it's magic, and it's not fair or possible to pick one soloist on skill alone because we all like different drinks. So I'll highlight two that really catch my ear. The authenticity that Jaden Wolfe achieves on the lyric delivery for I Drink Wine makes me believe she wrote the words for Adele. And then there's Sara Underwood for Back To Black; I am left in disbelief that such a voice is just flitting around Virginia while the world goes on with its business. The talent in this era of the BluesTones has my attention.

Taken as a whole, Tears Dry sounds aligned and thoughtfully designed — there are no dud tracks, and a signature smooth elegance is on display from engineer James Gammon. The release hits hard and bouncy when it needs to, and quiets down when it should. Definitely another successful round of collaborating.

Nothing to shrug about here. Give Tears Dry a listen and marvel with eyebrows raised at the high level of ability from these singers.

The BluesTones have a signature sound that leans firmly on sassy, bold, (mostly contemporary) pop singers, and the group has the soloists to pull that off. I Want Love is an especially excellent way to kick off this album: the arrangement is on point, the soloist is great, and it's immediately attention-grabbing without being too much. There are other songs here that are fully made by their strong soloists — POV and Back To Black especially have such terrific solos that it barely matters what the rest of the group is doing behind them.

I think my biggest critique of Tears Dry is the track order, as the momentum doesn't always flow from one song to the next. For example, I like that the BluesTones tried to mix up their sound with the slow, sultry, alto-soloed Tennessee Whiskey, but it just feels out of place in the middle of the album, like a speedbump on the middle of an interstate highway. It might have worked as a final track — like, perhaps, treating your audience to something new and different as your lead-off encore song — but it kills the momentum of the first two tracks, and it takes until Don't Blame Me to get the train rolling again. Similarly, I Don't Need A Man is not the slam-dunk album-closer that this group is capable of; it feels a little rushed and (surprisingly) not quite sassy enough.

There are still some great moments on this album; Back To Me is especially great; the arrangement and dynamics add a nice texture behind a powerhouse soloist. It's one of the most memorable tracks here, and I wish it hadn't been buried in the middle of the album. Overall, Tears Dry has a lot of great songs on it; it just doesn't feel entirely cohesive as a full, flowing album. In today's digital, streaming world, that may not matter to most listeners, but I fear that some really great performances here will get lost in the (literal) shuffle.