Jacob Abello

Jacob Abello breezed through the Opolis Saturday night, sweeping the crowd into summer with bubbly pop tunes that warm the soul.

The show was originally meant to be a CD release party for his debut record, “Nothing But Gold,” but with the album just short of completion, the show turned into a celebration of another school year coming to a close and a musical career beginning to bloom.

The night was filled to the brim with optimism and happiness. People chatted the night away with conversations briefly breaking away for the music of the opening acts of the night: the Adventuretones, the Nghiems and Brian Webb. The Opolis felt truly alive, buzzing with energy while gorgeous melodies swept through the cat-plastered walls of the venue.

Anticipation came to a swell as the man of the hour sauntered onto the stage wielding an acoustic guitar. Abello, supported by a full band, dove into a set that swam between jaunty pop songs and unhurried, introspective ballads. With a shimmering gold curtain backdrop and working disco ball, the Opolis would briefly transform into Studio 54 with his dancier tunes before it would revert to a coffee house for his gorgeous, unassuming indie-pop. Abello’s flexibility and effortlessness left the crowd in wonder, gazing attentively at the stage, unable to look away.

The new songs are well-crafted pop tunes with a straightforward simplicity that is refreshing in an age of over-processing and production. Abello feels no need to hide behind production gimmicks and lets his heartfelt melodies speak for themselves. He confessed a love for cheesy pop music from the likes of Britney Spears, older influences like Fleetwood Mac and modern indie pop that he blends into a sound of his very own. He claimed that the more music you listen to, the more diverse influences and different ideas you get. You can’t argue his logic after listening to his immaculate pop tunes.

Talking to him briefly about the record, it is striking how simple the process was for him. Abello had been in love with music since birth, singing at family functions throughout his childhood. This passion gave way to him writing Christian music throughout his years at junior high and high school. However, after growing increasingly discontent with the state of the music industry, he quit writing music.

But he didn’t stay away for too long. He noted that “music was the only thing that I felt like I really loved doing. Going to concerts and such, it just felt like something that I really wanted to do.”

Yet Abello did not force the music out of him, he let it flow naturally. In fact, he did not even set out to write the new record, stating that he “didn’t really write the record for any reason; the songs just kind of came out. I kind of wrote songs just to write them, and that is where the record came from.”

That effortless approach led to a sort of refreshing stripped-down beauty that is hard to come upon in music anymore. Abello claimed that as much as he would love for the album to be huge success, he would be perfectly happy just sticking around here playing shows as well. That is just the sort of sentiment that makes you wish for his success even more, and if the awestruck crowd from Saturday night was any indication, he may very well be on his way.

Armed with a stunning voice, impeccable ear for melodies and effortless approach, Jacob Abello is poised for success. He just makes it all look so easy.