Review Summary: A heartfelt rock record lead by a great voice named after a famous somebody I think we all know.
Lennon Murphy is a young songwriter rising amongst the Tennessee rock scene, later settling in Orlando, Florida to continue her music career. She is a multi instrumentalist, excelling not only with the guitar and singing, but the piano as well. On her earlier albums, she experimented with metal and industrial influences in the past with great success, opening for acts as diverse as Mushroomhead and Alice Cooper. On this album, she has nearly dissolved of those elements, resulting in a straight forward hard rock album, occasionally driven by piano runs.
"Damaged Goods" partially down played the industrial metal sound of old into a more modern mix of ideas, giving off a more commercial edge in the process. That's not to say the music has progressed towards the used section of Wal Mart, because the songs are still put together pretty well. Lennon is the voice of the band as well as providing all the piano work her self. The backing band consisting of Mikey and Phil aren't terribly unique or technical at what they do but play well enough so that it's not a one woman show. This album has plenty of hooks to attract the listener. The album's singles' " No One Knows" and "Where Do I Fit In" display that effectively. The first track displays an aggressive edge describing the pain she has dealt with in the past. The latter track is slower paced and more melodic but definitely fits the bill of a solid track with a heartfelt guitar solo and a stellar vocal performance from Lennon.
The guitar work ranges around slow to occasionally mid tempo, providing the hooks and the heaviness needed to compliment the music. Drum work is solid rock fare, adapting well to the heavy/soft switch offs. Plenty of fills and cymbal hits can be found in the heavier sections. The roots of old haven't been completely been abandoned as the track, "Brake Of Your Car" demonstrates with a heavy, sinister riff opening the song before delving into the chorus. Her voice sings of personal tragedies, stemming from her teenage years towards a custody battle to retain her sister. Lennon has a great voice, that has qualities reminiscent of other female songwriters yet has her own voice. The thing I like about her is that she sings straight from the heart. She displays a lot of emotion in the music, benefiting the music greatly as other's try to pass off as singers with no passion, driven by greed instead. The lyrical content although somewhat stereotypical of hard rock, has a sense of truth as Lennon touches on her past, giving a sense of realism towards a stale genre relying on sex, drugs, and rock n roll to carry them to success. The piano adds a nice touch when the heavy edge tails off into ballad territory.
The only problem I have with this album is the length. A whopping 17 tracks will turn anyone off. The decision to put so much music on a disk probably wasn't a good decision as many will find parts of the disk to be filler. All in all though, this is a strong effort from an up and coming band poised to dominate the airwaves The production of this album is pretty solid, capturing the instrumentation in it's essence. Vocals are crisp and clear, displaying aggression and emotion perfectly. A lot of the attention was given to the vocals as the guitar and drums are somewhat lowered in the mix. The drum work still can be heard well enough to provide a rocking beat. Guitar is heard cleanly as well. Melodic to heavy riffs compliment the voice pretty well. As for the bass, not as much focus has been given to the technical ability yet still can be heard cleanly in the songs. Don't let the fact that there are 17 songs here get to you. I still suggest fans of any sort of rock music to check this out.
Pros:
Great Voice.
Plenty of emotion, gives off a true rock record feeling.
“Where Do I Fit In”
“Brake Of Your Car”
Cons:
Some filler.
Instrumentation is a little weak.
