Picture yourself lying on a beach and sipping out of a coconut while listening to todays top hits. Thats pretty much the relaxed feel you get from the 2017 album Mr. Optimist Blues by Jonathan Roy.

I dont usually enjoy reggae music, but Mr. Optimist Blues perfectly mixes an island-like sound with pop to ease listeners such as myself into the genre.

Freeze Time is one of the quicker tunes on the album, and has a definite pop feel. This song is the perfect start for newbies to Roys music. Itll attract new listeners with its strong beat and catchy vocals. The feel of this tune is similar to Scottish producer Calvin Harris recent popular hits, including My Way and Summer.

If the song Good Things (track four on the album) were categorized like a high school senior superlative, it would receive Most Likely to Make Me Bawl My Eyes Out. The whole song is about how the hardest part of a breakup is no longer having someone special in your life with whom to share the good moments. The slow, drawn out notes in this song are reminiscent of a cry of pain, while still being musical.

The song isnt so slow that you get upset by the lyrics; it has a great beat that keeps the song grooving while still letting the power of Roys voice take over the song.

The title track on the album, Mr. Optimist Blues, mixes a tropical island-like, reggae sound with a bouncy pop beat, making it an easier listen for people who prefer pop over reggae. The energetic, percussive beat keeps things danceable and fun. Early on, the paradoxical title of this song (and album) is what drew me to listen closely to it.

There are few songs in this world that are purely happy songs, containing no sadness, love or other complex human emotions. Rare is the song that plainly and cheerfully says: I have a great life, and there are pretty birds flying all around. And yet, Beautiful Day, the seventh track on the album, is purely a happy song. It uses an islandly beat to relax the listener into feeling like they want to dance. The lyrics are repetitive and simple enough to be catchy, but still unique enough to keep it interesting.

While Roy sings, I aint givin up, no way, the listener can truly feel optimistic about the day ahead.

The last song on the album, Daniella Denmark (Dream), is the song that perplexes me most. As a self-proclaimed hater of sequels and remixes, I shouldnt like this alternate version of the first song on the album. But Roy does what possibly no other artist has been effectively able to do: he mixes the song into a less poppy sound while avoiding the mistake of making the song too slow or boring.

This version takes Daniella Denmark at a slower tempo, with more of a piano base, allowing listeners to focus more on Roys strong vocals that can easily draw them into the dreamlike feel of the song (thus the name).

The most impressive part of this album is how powerful Roys vocals are. Auto-tune can make most artists sound decent, but Roy has true, raw talent. His mixing of untraditional beats, reggae feel and pop music create a fresh new style of music that is easy to listen to, while still being intriguing and a pleasant surprise to the ear.

New albums can get old quickly, but Mr. Optimist Blues can play on repeat for hours without getting annoying. Even the most pessimistic person wouldnt be able to get the blues while listening to this uplifting and relaxing album.

McKenzie Jamieson is a junior at West Valley High School and is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republics Unleashed program for teen journalists.

McKenzie Jamieson is a junior at West Valley High School and is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republics Unleashed program for teen journalists.

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Music Review: Roy makes it easy to get into the reggae groove - Yakima Herald-Republic