Review Summary: To all my friends, you're all gonna die...
Letlive has provided fans and newcomers alike with a fun, innovative album that has something for just about every listener, and each song on it is a gem of its own.
The CD starts off strong, with "Le Prologue," which I immediately imagined as a fantastic way to kick off a live show. From there, it slides relentlessly into "Sick, Sick, 6.8 Billion" and rarely lets up, the vocals and drums blaring and exciting the user until they can't be 'xcited no mo. "Renegade '86" brings about a relatively simple, rousting song, full of thought-provoking lyrics (although, the 15 minutes of fun part still stumps me) and kickin' drums. Enemigos/Enemies provides one of the catchiest choruses, which seems as though it was meant to be sung by the masses at live shows. Casino Columbus, which has a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTR4iLjKM7w), starts off with a faded section, sounding much like The Bled (anybody else think this?) However, it is catchy as mess, and has a chorus that's been stuck in my head since I first listened to this album months ago. The lyrics are very intuitive, and look back on American history (as I perceived it).
"Muther" is always seen as the crown jewel of this album, and for many reasons. It's subtle, beautiful tie-ins between each instrument and dual-voices make it Letlive's masterpiece. The female voice especially is a beautiful addition, one I'd like to see much more of. Despite coming across as the typical love/heartbreak song, this piece takes a beautiful approach to the stereotypical theme.
The rest of the album seems to chug along well. "Homeless Jazz" has obvious jazz tones (it's in the freakin' title) and starts off with a wonderful bass line. This is another song brings the listener to imagine them playing it live, with both the multiple-voice parts and "echoey" section. "We, The Pros of Con" is my favorite on the album, and stays strong throughout, with a beautifully vocalized chorus that sticks to my mind like...well, a great song. "H. Ledger" is probably the heaviest song on the album, with constantly moving guitar parts through the verses, and an almost angelic chorus (Haha, get it?). "Over Being Under" is probably the weakest song on the album. Albeit being great, it seems like a rehash of a few elements of the rest of the album, with not too much going on besides the vocals.
If you've had a problem with the lyrics of this album being too quirky, "Day 54" will definitely make up for it. Just about each line of this song is easily quotable by any man (or even woman!) and is easily the most meaningful and controversial song on the album.
I'd love, love, LOVE, to give this album a 5, but the guitars would have to shine more than on one or two songs, and the bass should have more interesting parts as well. I don't expect sweeps, or anything too showy that would overshadow the amazing vocals and mask the amazing lyrics, but a little more would be nice. The drums are amazing, and a real treat to attempt a cover of. However, I felt that the vocals on this album were the real treat throughout, having different tones on just about every song, throughout both cleans and screams. It's just coherent enough to be able to tell it's the same band as before, but with enough of a difference to allow the listener multiple listens without getting bored.
Unless you're looking for amazing shreddage, or br00tal breakdowns, there's something on this album for every listener, and I recommend everyone at least give it a listen or two.
My favorite songs:
Enemigos/Enemies
Muther
Homeless Jazz
We, The Pros of Con
Day 54
