Review Summary: If Shinedown and a "good version" of Nickelback had a kid this would be it
Few bands have been able to pull off the independent route in recent years and be as successful as the Jackson, Tennessee five piece known as One Less Reason. Before being signed to Arsenic Records in 2011 they boasted a sale of 400,000 albums, collectively, and it’s not a surprise why. Powerful lyrics, interesting country/rock music mesh, good variety of heavy to slow moving songs, everything that would catch the eye of the mainstream and it all started with their freshman release in 2005 titled Everydaylife.
The album starts off on the ground running with the opening track “What You Are” delivering a heavy dose of guitar riffs and in your face vocals/lyrics like
‘*** all your feelings
You're gonna shut up and let me speak
I'll let you know what you are
It's just your feelings”
The album then shifts over to the catchy radio single “Favorite Color” that delivers a more tame song muscly accompanied by cliché’ lyrics like “I will always love you, take the me out of you/ I love you and I need you” that anyone will find themselves beating their foot to. Eventually Everdaylife finds its self-slowing down with more slower tracks from the emotional filled piano ballad “A Day To Be Alone” to the personally revealing and musically lite on the ears track “Sadly Smiling Through” that nicely ties the album together and creates a nice set of variety in this album as a whole.
Though the album is quite impressive for a freshman release there are some draw backs. The album is low produced. Though I am not saying that the production value is bad it’s just raw and lacking that produced touch to it that many mainstream rock fans seem to enjoy, with that being said it is noticeable at times that they lacked an experienced producer because you will find yourself noticing that some of the heavier songs run together instrumentally but this is minimal.
All in all it’s a great freshman release for a alternative rock genre band that has variety but low production value, but it is easily over looked.
Score: 3.5/5
Recommendations: Favorite Color, What You Are, A Day to Be Alone, All That I know
Pros: Great Variety
Con: Low Production
Oddity: They did a heavy cover of Prince’s “When Doves Cry” with a scream in the chorus
trying to improve on my writing skill for school
