Review Summary: 'Beautiful Disorder' proves that there is such a thing as 'too much melody'.
Breaking Point's debut 'Coming of Age' was a very promising album. It wasn't too spectacular but it definitely wasn't bad. It was one of the hidden gems of 2001 and should've been a bigger hit. Being on the same label as Evanescence and Creed had to have been tough but Brett Erickson has a very great voice and fantastic lyrics that any one could related to and made Scott Stapp and Amy Lee seem a little over dramatic. The band showed they could rock hard and bring out the lighters with the best of them.
4 years later, they released their sophomore effort 'Beautiful Disorder'. As a big fan of the first record I went and bought it right away. At the time i was 12 or 13 so what the hell did I know about music integrity but a few years later now I can honestly say that this is a big let down. Gone are the heavy, wah driven guitars in favor of a over melodic guitar sound. Brett Erickson no longer sounds like a cross between Scott Stapp and James Hetfield. Instead he sings in a higher register. They even got a new drummer who is a Freddy Prince Jr. look alike. It's hard to believe it's even the same band.
"Show Me A Sign" is actually a promising song with a pretty cool affect on the guitars but it's a little too reminiscent of that song Franz Ferdinand had a pretty big hit with (Going for a big radio hit guys?). "Don't Let Go" is also a pretty good track but it's just a little too much on the generic side. Both of those songs could've been better than they were if it wasn't for generic sound. "All Messed Up" and "Goodbye To You" (Which was on the Fantastic Four Soundtrack) makes me wonder how a band that wrote great ballads like "Phoenix" and "Angry Side" could ever write anything this generic. "Had Enough of You" shows that Breaking Point still has some balls but it seems too forced and like they're trying to recapture the sound from 'Coming of Age'. Now "Nothing Left At All" is probably the best song here. It's a ballad much like "Phoenix" and isn't too mushy or overly melodic like the other ballads on 'Beautiful Disorder.' "Never Walk Away" and "Reality Show" both prove that there is such a thing as too much melody (Yeah, I didn't think it was possible either). The record ends on a pretty strong note with "Killing With Kindness" with could've been an even greater song if it wasn't for the generic lyrics but it's actually a pretty good way to end 'Beautiful Disorder'.
Like I said before I had pretty high expectations for this album after how much I loved 'Coming of Age'. I've always known that it wasn't all that great but I didn't really know just how generic the album was until I listened to the album with my girlfriend and she asked me to "put on something with more feeling" (and she likes 30 Seconds to Mars she knows a thing or two about generic music). If you compare the song credits on 'Beautiful Disorder' to 'Coming of Age' you'll notice that guitarist Justin Rimer had a lot more control over the lyrics and there also was outside help. Maybe next time around Brett Erickson will get back some control over the lyrics. That is if there is a next time. Almost 5 years after the release of 'Beautiful Disorder.' There is no word on any new Breaking Point material and Justin Rimer is playing with 12 Stones. But if there is a next time let's all hope they can put out an album as good, or better, than 'Coming of Age'.
Top Tracks:
Show Me a Sign
Don't Let Go
Had Enough of You
Nothing Left At All
Killing With Kindness
