Aaron Lewis - The Road

Aaron Lewis - The Road
2012, Blaster Records

Aaron Lewis has made a lot of hay as the front man of Staind. The band's nine albums put them at the forefront of the hard rock/metal seen for a decade or more. Lewis has found a new direction the past few years however, falling for the melancholy and pick-a-ninny of traditional country music. Lewis' full length country debut album, The Road, drops this week, with a sound both radio ready and legitimate.

The melancholy pull of home while on the road is the theme of "75", in which Lewis laments a life where his bedroom travels as much as he does. The musicianship here is first class, and Lewis' voice is as classic country as they come. "The Road" is a road song with outlaw country pastiche. Lewis channels a mix of Paycheck and Cash in a highly catchy tune that will stick with you. "Endless Summer" is about making the most of time together with family. The scene is a summer camp with those you love best. It's hard not to identify with this tune at least a little bit, and Lewis manages to convey the sentiment without becoming enslaved by it.

In "Red, White & Blue", Lewis explores the enduring power of the American flag as a symbol of all of the sacrifice that has made America what she is. There is a melancholy feel here under the surface, but it supports a singular pride and hope for the future. "Lessons Learned" reflects on Lewis' own human frailties and how mistakes have led to wisdom and appreciation over times. The song is a call for self-examination and for talking stock in what matters. It's well written, cogent and wonderfully melodic. "Forever" laments the potential loss of love, and explores the chances of carrying on from the road. The sentiment here is authentic, and Lewis sings it as a confessional piece of country pop.

"Grandaddy's Gun" is a song of generational memory and affection, centered around the shared memories of a shotgun. This song won't resonate well with the ACLU or your local left leaning lawmaker, but it will hit home for anyone who grew up in a family where hunting was a way of life. The arrangement is masterful, and Lewis manages to humanize a subject too often demonized in the public sphere. "State Lines" looks back on a career full of successes in the terms of miles traveled. The seeming ambivalence about doing it all again that arose in "75" partially resurfaces here, but in more pragmatic lyrical and musical tones.

"Anywhere But Here" is a song of ultimate regret, sung from the perspective of a man trapped by his own decisions. This plays to the stereotypical hard luck life style song endemic to popular country, but is well written and had a certain commercial flair. Lewis closes out with a fitting paean to the bad boys of country music. "Party In Hell" finds Lewis claiming his place beside Waylon Jennings, Chris Whitley and Jamey Johnson, among others. The low key honky-tonk style is a nice touch.

Aaron Lewis makes the transition from rock to country with surprising grace.  Lewis and his band provide top-notch musicianship throughout The Road, but Lewis augments this with mature and nuanced country songwriting that runs the depths from Johnny and Waylon-style outlaw country to mature singer-songwriter pastiche.  This may be one of the finest country efforts of 2012.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.aaronlewismusic.com, where you can order a personally signed copy of The Road as a part of various packages.

The Senticsphere - Day One

The Senticsphere - Day One
2009, The Senticsphere

Vancouver, British Columbia’s The Senticsphere broke out big in 2009 with their debut album, Day One by sticking to a well-tested songwriting formula. Day One mixes radio-ready alt-rock with a handful of more original tunes for a solid listening experience that should sit well with fans of bands like Staind or Breaking Benjamin. Vocalist Warren Hall shines on songs such as “Rain On Me”, “The Scene” and “Lying Awake”. In general, Senticsphere displays a keen melodic sense throughout Day One, although they do fall prey to a formulaic mindset on songs such as “Hollow”, “Home”, “Bring Me Down” and “Sacrifices”. Similarly, the power ballad “Sadness Fades” likely has huge radio potential, but is something of a Lifetime Movie in song for rockers. In general, Day One is a solid effort. The Senticsphere’s breakout moments are worth the trip.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

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Review: Lo-Pro - The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge

Photo by Matt Mecaro

Lo-Pro - The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge
2010, My Rocket Science

On May 25, 2010, Southern California rockers Lo-Pro return with their sophomore album, The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge. After achieving radio success with the song "Sunday" from their 2003 self-titled debut. Several years of languishing in label purgatory left Lo-Pro uninspired, but a series of acoustic gigs with Staind front man Aaron Lewis left the band energized, an energy that carried over into the songwriting and recording that led to The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge. Featuring front man Pete Murray, guitarist Pete Ricci, guitarist Neil Godfrey, drummer Tommy Stewart (Godsmack) and bassist Jerry Oliviera, Lo-Pro had to overcome geographical separation to take this next step (Ricci lives in Massachussets and the rest of the band are scattered around California). The resulting effort is both meaty and commercially driven.

The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge opens with "Blame Me", a highly commercial and radio-ready rock n roll song with a dark timbre. "Blame Me" is a bit generic for the Modern Rock market; it sounds good for radio but may have a hard time standing out in a crowded marketplace. "Texas" suffers from the same general feel. In fact, much of the album has a highly glossed and banal feel. Technical proficiency abounds on The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge, but there is little here that truly sounds inspired. "A Life That's Just Begun" fits into the big power ballad category but fails to stand out. "Ingenious" shows some signs of life; active and full of a dark musical energy, and "Hang On" pushes the envelope a bit further. Here Lo-Pro shows real pop sensibility with a big rock chorus. It's a step in the right direction but not fully dynamic. Likewise, "Early Morning Anger" shows signs of hope. The song is a vibrant rocker but the vocal line is a bit too compressed within the layered instrumentation. As a listener you'll sit patiently waiting for Pete Murray to really let go and soar vocally, but that moment never materializes. The layered sound carries over to "Breathe", a decent bit of lyric rock n roll that's among the best songwriting on the disc. Lo-Pro closes with the bland and lifeless "Letting Go", an attempt at a power ballad that simply falls flat.

Lo-Pro has a few solid moments on The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge, but never really gets off the ground with a sound that's just too much like too many other bands clogging the Modern Rock Radio genre. Technically the band is very solid, but vocalist Pete Murray just doesn't come across as a rock n roll front man on the CD. Sound often takes the place of energy on The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge, making the music sound ineffectual at times. This is not the impression that a big rock band wants to leave with listeners.

Rating: 2 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Lo-Pro at http://www.lopromusic.com/ or www.myspace.com/lopromusic. The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge drops on May 25, 2010. Keep checking Lo-Pro's website for availability and release information.

Review: Prize Country - With Love

Prize Country - With Love
2009, Hex Records

Portland, Oregon post-punk rockers Prize Country deliver rough cut Rock N Roll with no pithy nuances on With Love; opening with From The Gutter, a brief, guitar-driven instrumental that sounds like the bridge of a song still in development. This deceptively comfortable opening leads into the aggressive talk/sing rock of Regular Nights. Prize Country sounds like a cross between Red Hot Chili Peppers and Staind here; throwing up a taught arrangement beneath a loose and roaming vocal line. It Was Just A Night Like Tonight features some of the strongest guitar work on the album, and the vocals are more of a cadence than a melody. The song itself is fairly bland given the genre, opting for safe rather than challenging.

Prize Country spends a few songs ambling about the bland waters they've fallen into before slamming into Bigger Picture with challenging guitar work worth sticking around for. It's an intriguing tune; very listenable although there liabilities in the vocal here. Cement is driven with solid guitar work. The song is a bit repetitive and could use a little more power (which it will probably get live), but is decent enough as is. With Love is something of a come down as a closing track, by far the weakest on the disc.

Prize Country presents as a rough and tumble Rock N Roll band, singing/talking somewhere between RHCP and The Beastie Boys, but the energy, while high, is too static along the way. At the end of the day I'd conclude that Prize Country is solid but quite limited in both their stylistic and vocal range. As long as you're fine with that as a fine it's a solid piece of work.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Prize Country at http://www.prizecountry.net/ or www.myspace.com/prizecountry. You can order With Love as either a CD or Download from Amazon.com.

Review: Resin - Truth Be Told

Resin – Truth Be Told
2006, Resin

Massachussetts-based Residn are following in the footsteps of Boston icons Aerosmith, Godsmack and Staind. After barnstorming the Northeastern United States for the past couple of years, the band has perfected a sound that ranges from melodic pop/metal to thrash, covering all points in between. Resin’s debut CD, Truth Be Told shows off the charismatic vocal style of Ron Dallaire (sometimes compared to David Lee Roth for flamboyance) and the masterful guitar skills of Pat Pacheco on top of a killer rhythm section (Dave O’Brien – bass; Steve Smith – drums). Resin paces through heavy and light, poignant and prickly in one of the most wide-ranging and deliberate rock albums I’ve heard so far this year.

Truth Be Told opens with Song F, a great driving rock song with big guitar sound. Song F just sets the stage for Not For You. Not For You is a revelatory moment for guitarist Pat Pacheco as he shreds his way through rhythms and sounds that are practically patentable. No offense to Dallaire, but I got so caught up in Pacheco’s guitar on this song that I couldn’t even tell you what the song is about, and I listened to it several times. Resin takes a much more pop/rock turn on songs like Tomorrow, In The End and Done To Me, any of which could have commercial impact, but the gem of the album is Feel. On Feel, Resin achieve the perfect balance of heavy metal sound and hook-heavy pop rock. For A Reason is an interesting change up from Resin, opening as an acoustic piece that allows Dallaire to let the soul loose in his voice. Even once the heavy guitars come in this song retains its gentler qualities. Resin closes out the album in interesting fashion. The second to last song is the heavy-bordering-on-thrash Down The Line, breaking any sense of pop serenity that might have crept into Truth Be Told before launching into the Creed-esque anthem All My Life.

Resin seems equally comfortable with their heavy and melodic sides on Truth Be Told. Even the harder-edge songs on the album have a strong melodic pop sensibility, while even the softest of songs retains an edge. Dallaire isn’t my favorite singer, but he sure can sell a song, and Pacheco is just amazing on guitar. Rhythm sections often get overlooked, but they are the heart and soul of any band, and due of O’Brien and Smith is as good as they come. On the whole, Truth Be Told is a strong debut that should have broad commercial appeal. Resin manages to sound at times a bit like Metallica, Soundgarden or Creed, but in the end seem to have found an interesting and unique band persona that envelopes all of these myriad influences and turns them into something new. The future looks bright for Resin.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Resin at http://www.resinrocks.com/. You can purchase a copy of Truth Be Told at www.cdbaby.com/cd/resinrocks.