From Louisville, Kentucky comes singer/songwriter is Nick Peay and this is his story of struggling with and coming to grips with addiction.

Opening with “Put This Bottle Down,” the mood is upbeat and too much hasn’t yet become too much for him. “Every Morning” is another uptempo song where he laments “I miss you every morning,” and a sense of loss is evident but not overwhelming. It’s on the third track, “I Won’t Fall in Love” where everything crashes headlong into itself. “First it’s last call, then we’re out of here/A belly full of thought and a head of beer/You might blur a little/I just might slur a little.” but it soon becomes evident Life has caught up unceremoniously and our narrator sounds ready to stop. “Ok baby, I think I’ve had enough. “ he offers with a tired sense of resignation.

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The Sobering EP is a tremendously inspiring effort that marks the meteoric rise, bottoming out, and reclaiming of Nick’s life. With tracks including Put This Bottle Down, Every Morning, and Sobering, Peay is able to tell a story of lost love, coping mechanisms, and bundles these themes up in a stellar singer-songwriter style that is equal parts pop and rock. Put This Bottle Down is a quick-hitting introduction to Peay’s music; while the song concludes at the 2:30 mark, the theme continues into Every Morning. The frenetic energy that is exhibited here takes up hints of Soul Asylum and Counting Crows, but these five efforts possess a greater thematic cohesion than any album we’ve heard this year. Every Morning keeps things in the top gear, with punchy drums, insistent vocals, and sizzling guitar work that is sprinkled amongst the track.

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