Singer/Songwriter Anthony (Sobak) Releases New Album

Anthony Sobak has worked perfecting and refining his vision for music since his teenage years and there’s no sign of him slowing down. The veteran singer/songwriter’s art continues growing at an exponential pace, as well, and his band’s latest release A Little More Time is resounding evidence of his burgeoning gifts.

Few musicians and writers today are in touch with their true life experience.

Nor do many musical artists frame that engagement with such a clear and unfettered connection to their subconscious. “Donna” is a model of bracing simplicity hanging a rampaging, yet artful, guitar-driven arrangement on a deeply felt vow to be a part of his romantic interest’s world. “What You Mean to Me” follows a similar lyrical template and expands on the quasi-spiritual themes of his lyrics without ever sounding like a singer sermonizing to his audience. It’s a memorable one-two punch opening A Little More Time that gets the album off to a fast start.

“A Little More Time” broadens Sobak’s typically spiritual concerns. This is a much more well-rounded lyric that even the non-spiritual can relate to because it plumbs the universal emotions we all feel about mortality and our desire to fit in as much as we can while we’re here. Sobak depicts those thoughts in simple yet pointed language that’s poignant yet leaves no ambiguity. The dual acoustic-electric guitar arrangement is straight out of the Classic Rock Songwriting 101 playbook, but nonetheless impactful thanks to the band’s outstanding musicianship.

Regret and affection collide in “All My Tears”, another superb tune. It has a widescreen arrangement that recalls the preceding tune in the way it blends soaring lead electric guitar with tasteful acoustic playing. The long personal journey at the heart of Sobak’s lyrics hinges, once again, on direct and unambiguous language while gaining much from his deeply soulful vocal phrasing.

“Together We’ll Find” is a fiery track about two people walking into a better tomorrow together and the music reflects the bond they share with energy and conviction. The backing vocals scattered throughout A Little More Time serve various songs quite well and this is a standout in that regard. There’s just enough performed poetry in the single “Like Heaven’s Wings” to draw clear distinctions from the rest of A Little More Time but it’s cut from much of the same cloth Sobak’s other songs share. It’s abundantly clear, however, what drove Sobak to pick this as a single as it is arguably best exemplifies the melodic merits of this album.

“Help Me Be Complete” may grate on some listeners as one interpretation of the song can be that it’s a bit disagreeable hearing someone who thinks they need another to finish them as a person. There’s no question though that it’s one of the album’s most passionate tracks and the arrangement accentuates its seemingly bottomless reservoir of emotion without ever sounding overwrought. You can hear so much humanity in this album that it’s nearly exhausting, but happily so. Anthony Sobak and his band put every ounce of themselves into realizing the potential of these songs and it makes A Little More Time a thrilling listening experience. 

Timothy Ball