Phillip Phillips has just released his sophomore effort, Behind the Light. The album’s title is derived from a lyric in “Alive Again” (“I see myself again / Behind the light I flicker”), which speaks to the notion of re-discovering yourself from the shadows, or in Phillip’s case, allowing fans to uncover a side of his musical identity that hasn’t been revealed before.

As a result, Behind the Light boasts a more rock-oriented sound with intricate instrumentation and powerful production – an evolution from the rootsy-folk driven sound which dominated his platinum selling debut, The World From The Side Of The Moon. Though ambitious, the new album still retains that authentic feel which drew listeners into his music in the first place.

Phillip leaves his artistic mark all over the album, which he produced in collaboration with Derek A.E. Fuhrmann and Gregg Wattenberg. The songwriter was involved in the writing of all of the songs, sharing co-credits with the likes of Fuhrmann, Wattenberg, Todd Clark, Jon Green, and David Ryan Harris and being the sole writer of “Trigger”, “Open Your Eyes”, “Thicket”, “Face”, “Don’t Trust Me”, and “Armless Crawler”.

His songcraft has grown in depth, with lyrics containing ideas that are more mature, more introspective, and more thought-provoking, and that cover a spectrum of moods, emotions, and energy. Behind the Light is heavy with imagery of light and dark, day and night, and nature, with fire serving as an overarching metaphor that is wovened throughout the album. The fire rages from the colourful cover art to the tracks themselves, which follow themes of being true to oneself, finding strength, and coping with the passage of time.

Continue reading the track-by-track review on The Hudsucker…

Phillip Phillips‘ Behind the Light is available on iTunes.