Naylor Stone is an artist with uniqueness due to not allowing any specific genre to define him, and that is shown through his new EP “The Game of They,” released 02/21/2025. This EP has a rock basis and is filled with folk influences, but track by track, it provides something fresh from the last.
Each track seems to take its own influences, from the classic rock-inspired opener ‘If It Wasn’t For The Trees” which has a psychedelic-influenced guitar solo, to the almost folk punk sound of the vocal punch in the title track “The Game of They.” Then there is the jazzy piano croon as heard in, “Love Me Little Lazy,” and the pop-inspired harmonies of “In The Meantime.” Things wrap up nicely with the track “Top Me Up” which has pop-inspired harmonies and the closer ‘With All My Friends’ which shares more of that focus on a more classic rock tone but also has a reeled-back tempo compared to the opener
This EP has highs and lows and twists around like the winding of a road. But, it doesn’t feel like a random spattering of genres here and there. There are still main musical and lyrical themes that tie it together. These include a vocal with a soft rasp that sometimes delivers a gravely tone, an overarching use of guitar with some reverb, and lyrics that tend to use naturalistic references and tell life stories. Additionally, the rock influences overall stand the brightest with the vocal rasp giving some overarching folk undertones.
Put together, these influences wrap a wonderfully dynamic collected piece together as if with a nice bow. This EP is Naylor’s proof that a musical work can be far from one note while still fitting tracks together like a puzzle piece.
Lyrically, each track in this EP feels like it has either a lesson to teach or a story to tell. This is all done with poetic lyricism that uses natural references or tells human stories. However, it’s written in a way that allows listeners to read for themselves and find their own understanding between the lines of each track.
The poeticism in this EP can be heard right off the bat in “If It Wasn’t For The Trees.” This is done with the lines, “Wise and Wicked Trees, / I’m in a swimming pool of tea. / I’ll see it all if I could make them fall.” This goes into a narrative of someone who flies over the trees, but that’s all they can see. The main hook is, “If it wasn’t for the trees, well, Well you know, we’d be so oh-oo-woh,” which is spoken by a character just referenced as “She.” Using sounds rather than a word builds a sense of intrigue, and it plays into an overall fantastical narrative.
Then, “The Game of They” speaks of the sun and the moon and a narrator that will “burn in the end” at the hands of a collective just referenced as “They.” It mentions that “They” want to play games, but the narrator doesn’t like those games. It also references finding oneself and who to run from and to. Overall, it seems to be about trust. The next track, “Love Me, Little Lazy,” asks a character called “Little Lazy” to love the narrator. The narrator has been far away and has seen much pain. It references that said character lost the narrator and then expresses, “Should I say what I have done? / Do you even want to know? / Want to know where I have been?” This could either be about mistakes or a sort of disconnect, sharing a feeling of not being cared about. In general, it seems to explore a loss of love.
Moving forward, “Top Me Up” comes from the voice of someone who has had enough after being talked up by someone then pushed down, being called too tough. It seems to be a tale of love, but one that is played with a back and forth. To wrap things up, “With All My Friends,” has a narrative with lyrics such as, “Living large, and it ain’t quite the same when you’re in it.” It seems to be a track of someone who’s reached a state of an exciting life full of glory, but it isn’t all it chalked up to be.
In general, the lyrics’ poeticism, like the music, is full of twists and turns. The filling of poetic references and refusal to be to the point gives so many lines to read between in this EP. In doing so, it’s captivating, and it begs for more listens as the pieces come together.
Naylor Stone uses jazz, rock, blues, country, and more influences in his overall discography to create music that’s unique and dynamic through and through. In the past, he has been the vocalist for alt-rock band FLYWAY, and his EP “The Game of They” is the first record he’s made solo. Each song gives a taste of the different sounds that he dashes into his writing and creations. With melody, emotion, and empathy, Stone takes stories of those around him and brings them to life. That life is imbued into this EP, and it’s sure to add even more flair to whatever comes next!
