Anthony Casuccio – “Friends First” – weaving something compelling out of the expected Country threads

Anthony Casuccio hardly needs an introduction in the music industry – A 25 year music veteran, his audio production work has been nominated for three Grammy awards and he has topped various charts across the world as a producer and engineer, as well as leader, and songwriter for the band A&L that had 9 top 20 songs on various U.K. Indie music charts and received radio play in over 70 countries throughout Europe. During the pandemic Anthony has been trying his hand at disparate music styles from Country to EDM. Currently he has thrown his hat into the Country music arena with a brand new single release, entitled, “Friends First”.

Originally composed as a personal acoustic project, the song eventually found Anthony Casuccio collaborating with Gino Mirizio an international drummer/percussionist based in Toronto, and Robin Grandin who played bass and added the catchy harmonies. Right out of the gate, I like the title. The message is typical of a friends and lovers situation, where the intricacies and intimacies get turned and twisted into place.

Jam-packed with electric guitars and hefty drums, “Friends First” has a nice slick rocking edge. No matter how much instrumental power he managed to pack into this song, Anthony’s vocals shine through clear as a bell. Every lyric is right there in your ears and shot straight to your mind.

Considering that Anthony Casuccio does not consider himself a singer, this is indeed a positive outing, as he leads the way to a mellifluous upbeat soundtrack. The narrative might pull at your heartstrings, but it might make you want to move to, as it’s feisty.

Fresh and breezy, musically “Friends First” is all about fire-breathing guitar riffs, a driving rhythm, and quick passes through catchy verses on the way to big blustery choruses served up in waves.

Sure, its country music, but the amount of sonic surges in this record is still pretty incredible. As always, it’s a meticulously executed tune that earned itself a quite a few replays the first time I listened.

Anthony Casuccio’s style of country owes more to a rock grounding, with the guitars set more to the crunch end rather than a typical country twang. And that’s absolutely fine because what it does give us, is a song that somehow fits perfectly in the library that he’s been building since he started out releasing music. Anthony, Gino and Robin, work a form of magic on the song, weaving something compelling out of all the usual and expected Country threads.

“Friends First” is a prime example of the compositional and production skills that Anthony usually puts into his records. If you’ve ever found yourself enjoying his music in the past, in any of his projects, hit play and listen to this song.

There’s something for you here, regardless of what genre it is called. The songwriting and musicianship is top notch, as Anthony puts his stamp on the song. And if you don’t know any of Anthony Casuccio’s past music, now is a good time to start listening.

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