Turning the volume down low and showing a softer side has paid off for Transcendence singer and chief songwriter Ed Hale on his newest solo offering. The life or death drama and pathos and over the top emotionalism and passion that listeners are accustomed to hearing from the vocalist are still intact on the new solo set; in fact they’re even more highlighted due to the toned down and hushed atmosphere created by Hale, who co-produced the album along with fellow Transcendence guitarist (and Dreaming In Stereo frontman) Fernando Perdomo. Not only will Ballad On Third Avenue be the singer’s first album to receive airplay on commercial radio nationwide out of the gate, but the new acoustic whisper-pop collection of 11 songs debuted at #14 on college radio’s CMJ Top 200 Most Added Chart this week, the highest debut in the singer’s 20 year career. Out of 200 albums currently spinning on college radio this week it is a remarkable achievement considering Hale has not toured in several years and is a relative unknown compared to the behemoth his better known band Transcendence has become over the last ten years.
Besides a praise-worthy debut, the album also notably picked up several key taste-maker stations including WKBU of Drexel University, WONC in Chicago, IL, and Newark’s WSOU – stations that usually indicate just how well an album might fare months before the final numbers are calculated. If commercial radio follows suit and is successful for Hale’s new solo effort (his first single “I Walk Alone” will be released to Triple A stations all over the United States on August 2nd), Transcendence may find themselves attempting to transcend not only thier own past successes, but the current success of a very edgy strategy – three members of the group have all released successful solo albums this quarter (bassist Roger Houdaille fronts the indie rock sensation of the month Ex Norwegian who have taken the music blog world by storm). The success of the singer’s new solo album only adds to the excitement and anticipation for the band’s new album All Your Heroes Become Villains due to be released in September of this year.
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