Review Summary: Joe Boynton is getting tired.
Joe Boynton is getting tired. You can hear it in his voice and occasionally in his lyrics. On Transit’s Young New England, his energy is all but lost. At times his lyrics are repetitive and reminiscent of other bands in the same genre. The question that comes to mind is, “Why would someone who seems to be losing his touch choose to start another project?” The answer is even harder to answer when one considers the fact that Save Yourself, Start Again doesn’t sound all that different from Young New England.
The album starts off with “Not Worth It” a relatively solid, but low energy rock tune. The production is clean, the musicianship isn’t bad, by any means, but as big as the music gets, the vocals never match up. Fans of Boynton’s previous work will wait for him to break into his belting range, but won’t hear it. Boynton plays it safe throughout the entire record, showing less emotion through his voice, but instead with his lyrics.
It’s hard not to notice the fact that Boynton is more wordsmith than vocalist. He always has been. But there was a time when he combined his lyricism with the emotion he wrote about; these days it feels borderline monotonous. In “Drive With Me” he sings, “My whole life is a cautionary tale of ‘the one that got away,’” with seemingly no conviction. It’s hard not to wait for some sort of climax in these songs, but they just don’t deliver. And it’s that lack of excitement that really ruins the record for me.
“Want” sees Boynton coming out of his shell a bit for the bridge. But it doesn’t take long for him to withdraw again to his low, monotone voice. The highlight of the record is definitely “You Can Always Come Home”, which succeeds lyrically and vocally. In fact, the final chorus of the song may be one of Boynton’s finest moments.
It’s weird listening to Transit’s Keep This to Yourself after listening to this record. I understand that was three years ago, but “growing up” is no excuse for the lack of energy Boynton seems to be putting forth these days. Not to mention the fact that Young New England was such a mediocre record. But again I ask, “Why would someone who seems to be losing his touch choose to start another project?”
