Train - "My Private Nation" - *
Five for Fighting - "The Battle For Everything" - **
There's been a lot to talk about this year in the world of music. Some great albums have emerged, and over the last nine months I've used this column to let you all know about the best of the independent albums I've been able to get my hands on. But for all the great independent artists I've discovered and passed along in your general direction, there's been a disturbing trend when it comes to signed bands I've come to like over the years.
It seems bands that seemed original at one point, had sounds that got my brain to groove, that inspired me to keep listening to my radio, are now deciding that it's better to record albums that one could call disappointing . . . and that's if you're in a particularly generous mood at the time. Sometimes it's referred to as a sophomore slump. I prefer to just call them what they are: bad albums. But all the same, though you know eventually a band's going to have an off year when it comes to creativity, when a band completely sells out their artistic integrity, that really gets me upset.
Train is one band that fits the bill in this respect.
I loved their debut album, the alt-country flavor on album tracks like "I Am" and "Heavy" gave me reason to hope that getting the bluesy side of alternative wasn't going to be impossible for bands coming down the line. I've heard the album hundreds of times, and aside from the track "Meet Virginia", none of it's gotten old. The same went for their sophomore effort, "Drops Of Jupiter." If you could get past the inanity of the repetitive title track (which was essentially "Meet Virginia II: Redux") there were some meaty album tracks. If you don't believe me, go listen to "Let It Roll" or "Mississippi" on Napster. Then you'll come around.
But their third effort, "My Private Nation" (My rating: *), was the biggest waste I've ever had the "opportunity" to review. The lead-off single, "Calling All Angels" was four minutes of trite cliches; "When I Look To The Skies", the second single, only showed that Pat Monohan's lyrical timing had perhaps slipped forever into the mist. And the title track ("Why you gotta treat me like I'm a low down dirty rounding up on thirty Dress like a kid to make you feel like punk and talk junk You musta fell outta your bunk and smacked your head ... or your face or something") made me want to outright cry.
Why? Why must solid bands jump on the bullet train to writing cheesy lame-brained vomit inducing drivel? Why must I sit here feeling like I'm some grandfatherly figure asking why music's not as great as I remember it? I hate sounding like that. But it's a fact, seems once a band has an album or two of solid material, they're bound to have a hit. And when that happens, say goodbye to your favorite band. Because if they try to follow up the hit, more often than not it's going to be a successful, but empty, conglomeration of junk.
I'm afraid that's what is happening to one of my favorites from 2001, Five For Fighting. John Ondrasik's wonderful series of character sketches, "America Town", was my pick for best album of '01 long before the events of September 11 made the single "Superman" into essentially a fireman's hymn. For three years I waited, wondering if he'd have anything interesting to say in a follow-up. Unfortunately, the answer was a resounding "no".
On the band's sophomore effort, "The Battle For Everything", all the songs sound like he took the melodic structures from the first album, which works, and combined it with lyrics that try to emulate what made "Superman" successful, which doesn't work. The songs aren't terrible, but nothing on the album holds my attention like their debut did as a whole. And many of the songs (like the single, "100 Years") are downright disappointing, combining every cliched thought about growing old into a song that is barely listenable after more than a repeat or two. The only song on the album that I can actually stand to repeat is "Angels and Girlfriends", a sardonic little number about lost love. The rest comes off as about half a step beyond the limits of poetic indulgence. Just listen to "Disneyland" and try to tell me he's still writing anything worth listening to.
Neither album misfire has to mean these bands can't ever pull out of the tailspin. But they leave me with the distinct impression that if I want to hear something good, I've got to hit the indie circuit. And maybe next time I'll have to keep my favorites to myself, lest they become famous too.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
