Tyler Ballgame - For the First Time, Again (Album Review)
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Written by Jeremy Blackmore
Some voices demand to be heard. Voices that draw deserved comparisons with the greats like Roy Orbison, Harry Nilsson or Elvis Presley. ‘For the First Time, Again’, the debut album from the splendidly named Tyler Ballgame (born Tyler Perry), arrives with that voice fully formed. It’s deep, rich, full of warmth and utterly authentic. It’s surprising it took so long for his talent to be recognised.
Like Orbison he possesses a wide range which allows his voice to soar into the higher echelons, pulling on the heartstrings, while retaining a playful charm on the album’s lighter moments. Producers Jonathan Rado and Ryan Pollie wisely place Ballgame’s voice front and centre, using the same analogue technology as classic albums of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
They deploy lush multi-tracked harmonies, tape echo and propulsive acoustic guitar, while the piano recalls John Lennon and Nicky Hopkins’ work on the ‘Imagine’ album.
The album’s 12 songs chart Ballgame’s journey from Rhode Island to finally accepting risk and betting on his talents with a move to Los Angeles. It opens to the sound of his tenor over gentle acoustic guitar before he moves up a couple of octaves, opening himself up to vulnerability.
Lead single I Believe In Love came from a challenge from Rado to write “the biggest song in the world” and features a swooning Lennon-esque chorus before Orbison-style vocal lifts transition into the chorus.
He shifts into his lower register for much of the You’re Not My Baby Tonight, again moving into falsetto to convey heartache. It’s evocative of Badfinger’s Without You, a number one hit for Nilsson. The album is at its most raw on the heartbreaking Goodbye My Love, its singer declaring he has had enough of living in his dreams before a segue into the upbeat, self-deprecating humour of Got A New Car, a metaphor for spiritual awakening and realisation of his ambitions.
The guitar-driven, hook-laden Matter of Taste rocks out. A song that accepts a desire for love but defiantly asserts that it’s fine if he doesn’t receive it. Down So Bad, meanwhile, is a delicious slice of beat group jangle pop, reminiscent of the Beatles and Byrds. The wonky, woozy, Ooh deviates most from the rest of the record, drawing on Rado’s previous work with Foxygen, and the Penultimate track Deepest Blue is reminiscent of Lennon’s How? in laying bare past regret.
But the album ends on a triumphant note. Waiting So Long acknowledges the struggle now behind him, his moment finally here. He even allows himself a chuckle as playful backing vocals and another ‘70s staple in a rock saxophone see out the album.
Tyler Ballgame Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed April 22 2026 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Thu April 23 2026 - GLASGOW King Tuts
Sat April 25 2026 - MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
Sun April 26 2026 - BRISTOL The Fleece
Wed April 29 2026 - LONDON Scala
Tue September 01 2026 - MANCHESTER New Century
Wed September 02 2026 - LONDON KOKO
Thu September 03 2026 - BRISTOL Electric Bristol
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