Track Review: What It Takes // Erick Beau

The son of an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Erick Beau has inherited discipline, dedication and passion for something greater than himself. The thing is, he may have these principles but a rebellious streak tends to run in kids born on air force bases. Hailing from Nova Scotia, Erick Beau embraced his love for music at an early age growing up in a musical environment learning the violin and later the guitar. Trained as a professional vocalist, Erick was performing at 12 years of age and signed a deal at age 18. Not bad for a teenager!

As with many artists, Erick shelved his musical dreams to pursue a more traditional path but now he’s back with those songs. Only a couple of years into his professional career and he is turning heads on an international scale featured in Americana Highway, The Other Side Reviews, Indie Band Guru and Music Junkie Press (to name but a few). The latest addition to his well-received discography is the single ‘What It Takes’.

Collaborating with top session musicians from Nashville, Erick recorded and released the fourth single from his debut EP What It Takes. Following his acoustic-inspired folk track, ‘I Found Love In You’, ‘What It Takes’ has upbeat joviality in its sound showcasing his versatility as an artist. The incorporation of steady drums with a harmonica and a banjo, ‘What It Takes’ reminds me greatly of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Sweet Home Alabama’…just a little softer and intimate.

Plunging you headlong into a perfumed swirl of sound, ‘What It Takes’ taps into the Southern sense of sentimentality, tenderness and sincerity. Yet, while there is an innocent genuineness in the track it is actually quite a teasing single. Using a personal narrative, Erick effortlessly executes the charming lyricism with his warm, rich vocals; however, the underlying playfulness can be found in the blunt conversation asking if she has “what it takes”. What I find intriguing is how the female vocals add a conversational context to the track enhancing the flirting-ness of the feel-good song.

I am not a fan of Americana and rarely have any folk artists on my playlists, but Erick Beau is one of those exceptions. A small fish in a large pond, he may not be as established as larger artists, however, if ‘What It Takes’ is anything to go by he won’t be a small fish for long.

In addition to his single, Erick Beau released an official music video for ‘What It Takes’ that can be viewed here.