The Queen and the Outcast Album by Whole Damn Mess

This post is sponsored by One2One Network. All opinions are my own. Music is something that is a part of my soul. I always have music playing – or I am singing – or both. Even walking around the store I will find myself singing along. Music is a powerful thing, and can really affect how you feel. That is why I am picky about what I listen to, so when I hear a song or an album that I really love, I want to share it with you.

Right now the album that I have on repeat is . The music is alternative but more mellow. I love Don Miggs voice and that they used real instruments like the guitar, drums, etc instead of synthesizing the music. This album is packed with so many new favorites like “Anywhere Without You”.

The lyrics, the beat, and the melody really speak to me. I love how the song starts with the guitar – since my hubby plays the guitar all the time, I could totally see him sitting there playing this song for me. The mellow slow beginning also catches me with the note changes. Then the song picks up and talks about how “I don’t want to go anywhere without you.” I just love it!

Another one of my favorites from the album is . It is a beautiful song about taking a chance on love. The music is poignant and touching – reminding me of my own love story. I promise you will have this album playing in your house, in your car, in the office – for working out – it is great!

I have enjoyed listening to it with my kids as well. My teen likes listening to it with her friends. She said that the music reminds her of Chainsmokers or Imagine Dragons or 30 Seconds to Mars. “Maybe we Should Do It” is one of her favorites because of the beat and the melody. She also likes “That’s Just How It Goes”. These songs are fun for her to dance to, chill out to, listen to while she does her homework. That shows just how much this music relates and speaks to all different ages of people.

Check out the full tracklisting below and more about the background of the album.

The Queen and The Outcast

TRACKLISTING:

Be Good To Yourself
That’s Just How It Goes
Maybe We Should Do It
Helium
Summer Under Covers
When She Says
Got You Stuck in My Head

About Whole Damn Mess:

The Queen and the Outcast is the kind of album that can only come after the ripening of life experience, and not just because of the singular story that it tells. The music itself is a unique blend of rock abandon tempered by a knowing cleverness, with pop hooks that are not only able to worm their way into the ear but provide something to ponder for the brain inside. In a culture that seems increasingly skewed to the 14-year-old mentality, it’s refreshing to find an album not made for kids that can nonetheless still make you feel like one.
“It used to be that you got to 40 and just hunkered down and prepared to die,” artist Don Miggs says with a laugh. “Our parents’ aged differently than we do today. I wanted the music to celebrate the fact that we ain’t dead yet.”
That’s just one way that Miggs’ songs resonate; even for those who can’t identify with the ’ “rags to riches” reality, there is still plenty to identify with in his wry songs. There’s the embarrassment of relatives struggling to fit in, as when Miggs’ Long Island kin get caught “leaving caviar in the trash” on “And Then We Were.” There’s the leap of faith that any two people in love take, as on “We Don’t Need a Reason.” There’s the craziness of the world from which only our loved ones can provide a refuge, as on “That’s Just How It Goes.” And then there’s the gentle reassurance of “Be Good To Yourself,” a song that Miggs wrote in response to his wife Lisa’s struggle with postpartum depression.
Miggs already knew how to write a great song, as evidenced by his past track record. What changed with the Whole Damn Mess was his defiance of those self-defeating voices, putting aside the expectations of an imagined audience to write from a more personal space. “I realized that at this point I don’t need to preach – I need to speak. I’m not fighting to get these songs into the top 10, thought I would gladly take it! I’m fighting to leave behind a legacy that my kids and my wife can be proud of – that I can be proud of.”