Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter Logan Richard navigates the trials and tribulations of youth on his new album, Character Traits.  All thoughts and ideas delivered courtesy of Logan’s clear mind and honeyed vocal chords

Release Date:  23^rd May 2025

Label: Outside Music

Formats: CD / Vinyl / Digital

LOGAN RICHARD

We’ve already had an enticing amuse-bouche to whet our appetites for this one.  Back in early March, we described Up From Here, the second of a string of singles to precede Character Traits, as “delightful.”  Back then, we suggested that the parent album, when it appeared, would be “something very special.”  We weren’t wrong.

Influenced by his axe-slinging brother, artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Mayer, his dad’s record collection, and his Acadian mother’s fiddle-playing family, Logan Richard made his stage debut aged just 12.  He cut his teeth playing gigs around his Prince Edward Island home ground with a blues group filled out by his young peers. He’s built a career, both as a solo artist and an in-demand live and session player, racking up experience over more than a decade and playing everywhere from dim blues dives to historical soft-seaters. All the committed hours have refined his work with nuances in technique and composition that allow him to express his deepest inner thoughts.

MEETS THE HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Character Traits is an album that meets the high expectations that have been established by the snippets that we’ve heard so far.  It’s an album of great variety that takes in flashes of folk, slithers of soul, ripples of rock and bursts of balladry.  Logan’s songs deal with subjects as diverse as relationship establishment and breakdown, family tragedy, self-evaluation and – a new one this – rotary contact card systems.  His lyrics are engaging and well-considered and, always, they’re delivered by a clear, honeyed, voice that’s guaranteed to set the listener on a quest for more.

IS THAT RHYMIN’ SIMON?

It’s that March 2025 single, Up From Here, that gets Character Traits off to cracking start.  Softly-strummed acoustic guitar provides the accompaniment to Logan’s tender, empathetic vocals, with soft percussion, warm bass and just a dash of piano adding to the mellow mood.  Logan’s message: “I know we can only go up from here…” is directed at a family member who is grappling with the challenges of addiction but, really, it’s a sentiment that we can all take away as cause for optimism, even during the worst of times.

There’s a strong Paul Simon flavour to the sharp, punchy, Feels This Way.  The guitar, keyboard and drums are super-tight as Logan recalls a first meeting with a new lover’s parents, and the acoustic guitar fills are spot-on. 

A FOLK-POP TRAVELOGUE

An early album highlight is reached with The Grass is Blue (Everywhere I Go) the latest of the singles to preview the album.  The song is a folk-pop travelogue that takes in visits to Boston, San Antonio and Mexico and, as I’ve always said, you can’t go wrong with lyrics that rhyme “lost in” with “Boston.”  The tune swings along nicely, in a gentle kind of way and, whilst there’s sadness in Logan’s lyrics, the feel is bright and summery, with the splashes of electric guitar adding extra colour.

Logan celebrates the “sweetness of a new love” with the uplifting, poppy, Feel The World Spinning.  The pared-back accompaniment is a well-considered mix of shuffling drumbeat, stop/start guitar and brass effects enhance the laid-back feel of the song. 

ANYONE REMEMBER ROLODEX?

It wasn’t that long ago that Logan’s brother asked him if he had someone’s number in his ‘Rolodex’ – a reference to the old-school rotary card system of storing contact details.  Logan takes up the story: “I had no idea what a Rolodex was at the time, so my brother told me and then I wrote the word down.  I challenged myself to write a song about it.”  And the resulting song, Rolodex, is another light-yet-fulfilling song with a bit of a Paul Simon edge to it.  Logan’s voice dances lightly above the shuffling rhythm as he sings: “If you fall down, if you’re goin’ crazy, you’ve got my number in your Rolodex, baby…” and the guitars are deliciously twangy.

Speaking of the album’s title track, Logan says: “This was the very last song I wrote for the record.  It came together in one sitting, which doesn’t happen to me very often.”  It’s an autobiographical song in which, with lyrics like: “I’m not good at starting conversations but, if you wanna talk, I’ll tell you about myself and my past relations…” Logan takes a deep look at himself and the things that matter to and motivate him.  His considerations lead him to conclude that he is, indeed, satisfied by the person he’s become, concluding: “I’m more than just a man on stage… If I could be anything, I’d still be me.”  It’s thoughtful, it’s truly excellent, and the pensive drumbeat and acoustic guitar provide all the backing necessary.

OPTIMISM PREVAILS

If You’re Gonna Change Your Mind is soulful, with a funky rhythm, pulsing bassline and choppy backing vocals, and concludes with a soaring guitar solo, before Logan returns to the subject of breakup with the bittersweet Junk Drawer.  The anguish in lyrics like: “I don’t wanna talk right now, so please stop crying” contrasts sharply with the bright piano tones and the song’s driving rhythm – and the closing guitar solo is just right!

And, to close this engaging album, what could be better than a big(ish) ballad?  Logan’s lyrics: “It won’t be today, it won’t be tomorrow, but someday I’ll fly – someday I’ll find what I’m looking for,” continue the theme of optimism that prevails throughout Character Traits.  The band are in full flow, with resonant electric guitar taking the lead on a bluesy number, and Logan’s voice is packed with expression.  It’s a fine way to conclude a fine album.

Watch the official video to The Grass Is Blue (Everywhere I Go) – the most recent of the singles to be taken from the album – below:

Logan Richard online: Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / YouTube / Bandcamp

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