BRIAN LAMBERT – Single Review: “Take This Heart”

Brian Lambert, an affable, talented and thoughtful singer-songwriter from Denton, Texas who describes himself as a “Friendly Neighborhood Rock and Roller”, is one of the most prolific musicians I know of. When Covid put a halt to playing live, he challenged himself to writing, recording and producing a new song every week for a year, an ambitious feat he went on to accomplish in 2021. Since then, he’s continued his prodigious output, writing and recording numerous songs both as a solo artist and in collaboration with a host of other musicians, including his frequent musical partner Marc Schuster (with whom he also has a side band called The Star Crumbles), Quizboy, Jr Moz Collective, Scoopski, Harmoni Kelly and As Particles Collide, to name some that come to mind.

His lively, eclectic sound runs the gamut from rock’n’roll, indie folk and garage rock to grunge, punk and synthpop. In addition to a dizzying array of singles, he’s also released a terrific album Wild in September 2023 and EP Everything’s a Business in June 2024. I’ve featured him many times on this blog (you can read some of my reviews by clicking on the ‘Related’ links at the end of this post), and today I’m pleased to present his latest single “Take This Heart“, which he released on January 3rd. Inspired by the 90’s music of some of his favorite bands like Soul Asylum, the Goo Goo Dolls and Better Than Ezra, the song is a smoldering, foot-stomping banger. Brian wrote the music and lyrics, produced the track and played all instruments.

The song starts off with a snappy drum riff that’s quickly joined by rumbling bass, then a gnarly guitar enters and we’re off to the races. To my ears, the song almost has a bit of a 60s garage rock feel, but with a contemporary treatment. I love the chugging guitar riff and the insistent drumbeat that continues throughout the song, nicely complementing that grimy bass line in keeping the sultry groove moving forward. Brian dazzles us with all sorts of guitar gymnastics, highlighted by a blistering guitar solo in the bridge.

He’s also a fine singer, with a highly emotive vocal style that works perfectly on this song as he passionately sings of his fervor for a woman he loves: “Hey alright, the moonlight. I just wanna hold you in the middle of the night. Baby, do you want me? Baby, I want you./ Got this feeling inside I can no longer hide anymore./ Baby take this heart of mine.” I think it’s one of his best songs yet!