From time to time, we love to review under-the-radar artists we cross paths with who we think deserve more attention
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What's the difference in quality between major-label releases and unknown artists' 100% D.I.Y. records?
Nothing.
Case in point: Singer-songwriter Spud Davenport's Songs for the Cynical dropped this year and it's a sumptuous songwriting buffet for the true music lover.
Review
Before I really bury the lead, jump right to "You’d Love Me Know (If You Knew Me Then)."
It's a legit hit.
Seriously, play it and tell me I'm wrong.
The whole album seems like a contract with the listener: music for those who've grown weary of platitudes, pop sweetness, and easy emotional resolutions. He invites you to sit in the uncomfortable space where hope meets skepticism and every emotional gesture can have an undertone of calling bullshit on cliches.
But that sounds too academic.
The main takeaway here is the music, not the words.
I'll admit it, as I get older I sound like grandpa yelling at the kids on my lawn.
I need real drums and I want to hear real people singing, not autotuned plastic.
That's exactly what you get here.
Right away, the production sets the tone. The mix gives each instrument room to breathe and each lyrical quip the space it needs to land. Whether intentional or not, the sonic texture reinforces the album's ethos: honest without being overly pretty, reflective without being precious.
Davenport's voice is an intriguing instrument in its own right.
There's a hint of a rasp in it - it sounds REAL. It has a lived-in quality, like a narrator who's seen too many self-help slogans and decided to retire early. There's an edge of detachment in his delivery, but not a lack of feeling. It's exactly the kind of vocal tone you'd expect from someone writing a record for the cynical.
But let's not overthink this.
It's just a great listen.
"If I Had The Time" is a complete toe-tapper with seductive chords and twangy guitar that sounds simultaneously modern and like a Duane Eddy throwback (ask your grandparents).
"Hot For Teacher" is the only cover, a quiet downshift from Van Halen's real version that lets you really hear the song and Davenport's voice up front and naked.
People who love songwriters are gonna love "I'm The Only One" and "Car Wreck".
"Car Wreck" is a great example of the duality in this record: a WTF topic made pretty; somehow cynical and earnest at the same time.
There are easter eggs all over the place for the rock music lover.
"Enjoy Every Sandwich" seems like a riff on Warren Zevon's dying advice (on a David Letterman show appearance).
And "Paper Maps" is my stealth favorite song on the record.
There's no way this guy doesn't love The Kinks based on this track.
This is a rock record.
But despite the self-labeled "cynical" vibe, songs like "Enjoy Every Sandwich" and the sweet closer, "Let’s Lead Together" are heartfelt as fuck.
That's kind of the beauty of this album, it turns the cynicism on and off, completely as needed.
There's a wry sense of humor underneath it all - a gentle refusal to collapse into unrelieved pessimism. This is skepticism with a smile, not a sneer.
The sequencing of the tracks also deserves praise. Davenport places his more introspective pieces alongside songs with a quicker tempo in a way that keeps the listener engaged without jarring shifts. There's a narrative arc here - from cool observation to a deeper, more nuanced reckoning with emotional truth. The album closes on a note that feels open rather than conclusive, reflective rather than resigned.
In a musical landscape that often rewards overstatement, Songs for the Cynical stands out for its restraint, its subtlety, and its willingness to dwell in the gray spaces of feeling.
And he writes about small moments instead of every song being something grandiose about love or humanity.
He invites you into a conversation - one that acknowledges disappointment but also refuses to surrender to it entirely.
Ultimately, Songs for the Cynical isn't an album for the faint-hearted, but it's one of the most compelling and honest records you'll hear this year.
You'll want to come back for more.
And I guarantee you that your 5th listening will be better than your 4th.
Toss it into your Spotify lists and give it a spin.
Video
Wow, a legit great-looking video for one of the funniest songs on the record.
And hey, puppets!
