Though Ken’s sound is mainly pop/rock, there is definitely a folksy touch to his songs, given the acoustic guitar and natural, naked quality of his voice. He also cleverly incorporates the cello into a number of songs; he can’t neglect the instrument that started his music career, now can he? The sounds of the cello can be easily missed, but if you pay close attention to the instrumental background, you can hear its deeper, drawn-out tones and really appreciate the artistry used in blending the classical with the modern -- guitar, keyboard, bass, percussion. Sometimes it's all fused together and digitized, producing a futuristic techno quality, as heard in the song "Analog girl." The song is ultra-modern and almost gives you the feeling that you’re in another time and place, yet at the same time it's strangely familiar. The song culminates with Ken playing the cello with the bass strumming and drums beating, fading out into space.

Most of the songs are mid-tempo -- with some variance here and there -- but the sound of each song is quite unique. Each song is stylistically different in the way that it’s arranged and mixed, and even Ken’s voice changes between songs, showing his range and flexibility. He can move effortlessly from a deep baritone to a vibrating falsetto. The variety is refreshing. Although hearing him sing about girls song after song can become redundant, "what else do most boys spend their entire lives trying to figure out, only to fail time and again?" And so it is that Ken creatively, poetically writes the lyrics to his songs with "God and girls" as his inspirations, using metaphors that make you think a little deeper to uncover the meaning behind the words. "I bleed all the colors I’m painting you/ we both make the sacrifice unscared" ("This Time"). "This world / is like a fading flower/ with petals withering away" ("These Things"). "There’s a cold and lonely road ahead of me/ the city’s just a silhouette of memories" ("Silhouette"). The CD’s last song, "Soma," has no words but the instruments speak to each other, telling a story to the soul.

Half Step Down reflects the persona of Ken Oak because they're his thoughts and feelings that live in the songs. But those elements also reach the listeners in a way that causes them to meditate on their own lives.

Ken is currently on tour. For more information, visit: www.kenoak.net.