With nearly half a million album sales to date and over a year since his last proper album, anticipation is at a fever pitch for Ace Enders’ upcoming disc When I Hit the Ground (Drive-Thru Records/Vagrant). The project comes on the heels of being the famed front man for alt-rock innovators The Early November
When I Hit the Ground is indeed an album destined to expand the ambitious entertainers’ audience. Not only did Enders leave every last drop of energy on the creative canvas, but he explodes with gut-wrenching honesty and unparallel relatibility, wrapped around contagious choruses and chord structures.
Though Enders runs the emotional gamut from heartbreak to hope, he certainly sees the glass half full across the infectious title track, which initially addresses hitting rock bottom, but then picking up the pieces to hit the ground running. There’s also the unavoidable sing-a-long “Take the Money and Run,” which alludes to the high octane approach of his days in The Early November.