Posts Tagged: dishwalla

2005 / 3 stars / lifehouse / reviews — No Comments
8
Dec 08

Lifehouse (2005) by Lifehouse

Genre: pop, alternative
Rating:
“Undone,” “You and Me,” and “Blind.”
myspace, last.fm
Lifehouse’s Who We Are, Dishwalla’s Opaline

In this first album since member Sergio Andrade left the band, Lifehouse uses their music to ‘detoxify’ and find their footing. The lyrics returned to Wade’s familiar territory of teenage angst for parents and the world, while the arrangements softened to give the album a supposedly-introspective feel. Instead, much of the album induces somnolence, most especially the repetition of the ridiculous lyrics in their hit single, “You and Me.” Thankfully, Lifehouse returned in 2007 with the much more palatable Who We Are.

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2008 / 4 stars / augustana / reviews — 1 Comment
22
May 08

Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt (2008) by Augustana

Genre: roots rock/piano rock
Rating: 4½
Check Out: “Hey Now,” “Twenty Years,” “Rest, Shame, Love,” and “Meet You There.”
myspace

True to form, Augustana’s sophomore album is filled with more depressed love songs. However, there are significant differences between this album and their debut All The Stars And Boulevards.

First of all, Augustana has shed their attempts at alt rock like a threadbare coat, and I couldn’t be more thankful. Instead, they’ve reverted to their country-tinged roots. This move is drastic enough that they will probably alienate some of their old fans and will probably never get serious radio-play.

But the lyrics and arrangements here so honest that most of their truly loyal fans will probably love it anyway. And there lies the second major difference between their debut and Can’t Love – each song tells a specific story instead of a rambling mix of discontent that we saw in All The Stars. There’s an obvious maturity to this album that makes each of its ten songs a precious commodity instead of the negligible waste that most of their debut was.

With this album, Augustana is proving that Americana, with its roots in blues, hillbilly rock, and that trusty acoustic guitar, is making a major comeback in 2008. We’re finally seeing a shift from the electronic ‘nu-metal’-like alternative of the late ’90s and early ’00s. I suppose we could credit this trend to Johnny Cash’s death in 2003, but I really hope there’s more to it than that. If it’s a true love for the genre, as Augustana’s newest album seems to be, then I’m at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next.

As a final note, did anyone notice that their album cover is eerily similar to Dishwalla’s album art for their sophomore album And You Think You Know What Life’s About?

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2002 / 5 stars / dishwalla / reviews — No Comments
26
Feb 08

Opaline (2002) by Dishwalla

Genre: alt rock
Rating:

Check Out: “Candleburn,” “When Morning Comes,” and “Nashville Skyline”
website, myspace

Do you remember that song from 1995 called Counting Blue Cars? It had the lyrics tell me all your thoughts on God/ 'cause I would really like to meet her/ and ask her why we're who we are. Yep, that was Dishwalla. Fast forward to 2002, and they released a less-known album called Opaline.

I suppose you could say that this album was written as they were recovering from their five minutes of fame and attempting to keep that publicity going, yet the lengths that they were going to caused them to question themselves. Nashville Skyline is especially telling; the lines don't go on looking for the love/ in the illusion of it all/ the answer's in the dream betray the kind of pain they must of gone through to reach that level of maturity. I'm sorry they went through it, but their disillusionment makes one of the best alt rock albums I've heard in my lifetime.

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