When you first listen to Dave Melillo’s Talk is Cheap, you wouldn’t think that he is 17 and just graduated high school this past May, simply because the songs are so complete and mature. The songs still have the laid back feel that all songs that someone has young as Melillo should. Talk is Cheap was released for free download on MTVu with 5 of the 6 songs and is for retail sale in its 6 song entirety. 3 of the songs on the EP are acoustic and 3 songs are full band. All songs are crafted with careful precision to give you the feeling as you were there right beside Melillo writing the song. “This is 2005” sings “I like to believe the best of me is something I have yet to see cause working at dead end jobs and skipping class and spending hours on my ass just doesn’t seem like any fun to me” catches you in the moment when you want to be something great and start to do something with your life but found yourself just sitting around. As the song comes to an end you are reminded of that one friend that always thought they were so and when you come back and visit after graduation you find them right were you left them. With “Knights of the Island Counter” is a tribute to the summer nights you spent with your friends when you didn’t have a care in the world. Talk is Cheap might be EP where you second guess yourself on buying and when you decide to buy it you won’t be disappointed, but glad that you did buy it. I find the acoustic songs to be the higher points of the EP but that doesn’t mean that the full band tracks aren’t any good.
Melillo has a powerful voice that will leave you in awe and he has the natural talent with the guitar that you are always jealous of. He has found his niche, but he still has a lot of room to branch out and try many different things. You should expect great things from Dave Melillo has he grows with his music. Don’t be surprised when you are listening to the album on repeat as he is a very promising musician.