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JennYLifehouse - Smoke and Mirrors Album Review
March 6th 2010 01:38
Release date: March 2, 2010
Genre: Alternative rock, Pop-rock
Label: Dreamworks, Geffen
Three years after the great Who We Are, Lifehouse is back with their newest record titled Smoke and Mirrors. Is it as good as their last album? Read on to find out.
The album starts with All In, a high-tempo ballad similar to many Lifehouse songs. The song's structure and melody was very much like “First Time,” the first single from Who We Are.
Nerve Damage features what I think is a first for Lifehouse – a smooth guitar solo. The track is great overall but the chorus' sound was a bit too “hard” in contrast to the rest of the song. The guitar solo reminded me of the Beatles' “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
Another first for the California-based band is a guest-feature on the vocals. Indeed, Had Enough features backing vocals by American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry. Thankfully, he doesn't stand out too much and the song stays very much a Lifehouse track.
From first listen, it's obvious that Halfway Gone is a radio-hit staple. The uptempo beat and chorus as well as the “wooh-ooh-oohs” just make you want to sing along while riding in the car. The song probably would have been more successful if it was released in the summer. It's really great track to drive along with. Minus points for the unimaginative music video though.
It Is What It Is is the classic Lifehouse piano-driven ballad. There's nothing else I can say about it really. Solid track from top to bottom.
The sixth track, From Where You Are, was an unreleased single in 2007 written for Allstate's Teen Driving Program. Per Wikipedia, “The song is dedicated to teens who have lost their lives in accidents and used to educate teens to drive safely. This song is also dedicated to a friend of Jason that died in a car accident at the age of 16.” It's a deep guitar-driven ballad that gets you to think about life and its meaning.
I don't why but the title-track, Smoke & Mirrors, reminded me a lot of Matchbox Twenty in their early days. It's a good song, just slightly - almost imperceptibly - different.
Falling In is a classic Lifehouse guitar-driven ballad. It's in the same category as “You And Me” and “Whatever It Takes.” My favorite song of the album so far.
Wrecking Ball is a great upbeat song. Sung by bassist Bryce Soderberg, it brings a breath of fresh air to the album while also infusing it with a good dose of energy.
Here Tomorrow Gone Today is probably the most different track of the album. It definitely startles you at first listen but you quickly settle into the new sound. It's more pop than rock with synthesizers and a drum machine as the main components of the instrumental but Jason Wade's voice keeps the familiarity present.
The two final songs, By Your Side and In Your Skin, are both nice guitar-driven ballads. By Your Side sounds more poppy while In Your Skin is vintage Lifehouse. Like most of the tracks, everything sounds good – from the instrumentals to Wade's singing, everything is rock-solid.
Smoke and Mirrors is a solid album, nothing more, nothing less. There are no disappointments but nothing stands out as a big hit like in previous albums. Nothing on this album has touched me the way “Broken” did on Who We Are. Wrecking Ball and Here Tomorrow Gone Today stand out because of their different sound but their impact on the listener isn't greater than, say, It Is What It Is or All In. With that said, I give the album a 4.75/5. They've gone a bit more mainstream these past couple of years but the sound has stayed the same. If you like Lifehouse, you'll love this album.
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