Review: Ariel Posen Blurs Genre Lines on 'Reasons Why'

The name Ariel Posen might or might not be a familiar one to you, but his guitar likely is. After years of working as a hired gun for everyone from Tom Jones to Butch Walker to most recently Brothers Landreth, Posen has used his six strings to create (or re-create) some truly epic licks. He was even chosen by John Mayer to play his signature guitar in a commercial. But in the past four years, Posen's focus has been on his solo career and with Reasons Why, the Canadian artist takes another step forward in his musical evolution.

Posen self-describes his music as “roots” and it's a fitting label for an album that bounces between blues, Americana, pop, and rock seamlessly. There are elements of Mayer here, as well as a more energetic Jack Johnson and even hints of Buddy Guy in his guitar work.

Lyrically, it also runs the gamut, from personal songs about love, loss, and parental relationships but also observational songs about mental health and the state of the world. On album standout “I Wish That We Never Met,” a co-write with Roman Clarke, Posen strikes a balance between regret for a lost relationship to the realization that he dodged a bullet of negativity in said loss. “I've always wanted to please you,” he sings, “Even when I didn't need to.” Later, he reflects on the post-breakup period, imploring his lover “Don't tell your friends all my secrets / Now that you no longer need it.”

“The Man You Raised” is a more up-tempo song but one with a less up lyrical bent. It's a tale of parental disappointment but also of having to forge your own path with the inevitable mistakes that come with. Posen croons “I don't understand it / Looking over my shoulder / Maybe in your defense / It'll all make perfect sense / Down the line when I'm older.” The song closes out with one of the album's bluesiest guitar solos, a reminder that Posen's chosen path as a guitarist has paid dividends.

Whatever genre Posen calls what he's doing, whatever path he takes on the album's ten songs, this brief album (it clocks in at 37 minutes) is consistent in its earnestness and its musicianship. It's a leap forward for Posen as a songwriter and a reminder of just how good he is on guitar. It's not exactly a “feel-good” album in the strictest sense, but it's one that is consistently fun to listen to not in spite of but because of its diversity.