Originating in New York City, the band Man On Earth provides a great listen with their variety of sounds. Their first album shows this variety from harder songs like The Great Discontent, to more pop-rock sounding ones like Lackluster, to the slower ballad types like Come In Closer. This phenomenal first record, while the name might throw you off, is greater than most first albums out today, because while it has a distinct sound, it also is very varied in how it delivers, providing an interesting listen no matter how many times through.
Track by track:
1: New Life 0:38
This is just an intro track, so there’s not much to say here, but as far as intros go, it’s not bad.
2. The Great Discontent 2:53
This song is the perfect opener to the album, starting of with a kick-snare, then going into a bass line and the short verse, then a loud guitar riff that mimics the bass line, with Nathan yelling “ahh!, ahh!” along with it, then repeat with a different verse, and then the chorus comes, which is a softer, more mellow sounding chorus than expected following the hard riffs, then another verse and chorus after. After the second chorus, instead of going back into the bass line in the verse, it goes into the hard riff with an exploding guitar solo that sounds really awesome, although nothing too impressive or flashy. Then another chorus and then the hard riff again, with Nathan yelling. This is the perfect opener, with a powerful riff and really cool dynamic changes. 5/5
3. Grow 3:47
The song starts off with Nathan playing some soft acoustic guitar, then Stan and Ian join him to make it fuller sounding, and then it goes into a loud verse. The choruses slow it back down to the acoustic again, that sound cool haunting. Alex’s solo is again, not anything flashy, but it flows with the song very nicely. This is the second single from the album, and the music video was taken in Nathan’s elementary school, because of the nostalgic feel to the song. 4/5
4. It’s All Been A Dream 4:53
This song sounds quite dreamy, which fits the title well, but I found it as a lower point in the album. It just seems like a generic softer song, and Nathan’s voice sounds a little nasal-y in it. The backing vocals can get slightly annoying at the bridge and the chorus does nothing for me either. At the end it fades into someone screaming as if they were being tortured, which is odd… especially after a happier sounding song. 3/5
5. Come In Closer 6:28
The first single of the album, Come In Closer starts with a cool drum beat that goes throughout the song. It has a very ambient and mellow sound in it, which adds to the effect. It’s a dark, slow moving song that doesn’t really change very much, and since it’s so long, it tends to get a little old by the end. The chorus doesn’t really sound much different than the verse, but at the end of it, the sound changes for a while, with Nathan singing “It feels so right”. 4/5
6. Lazy 4:51
The song picks up after the last few mellow ballads with a harder, darker, sounding riff than the previous songs. It’s very warm sounding, and shows to be one of my personal favorites from the album. It’s about falling in love, and how it makes you do less of what you did before you fell in love. The verses smoothly go across and sound catchy while doing it, then a pre-chorus, where it slows down, but then picks up with the choruses, and an emotional sigh at the end of each chorus. This song has Alex’s finest solo on it, which slides through elegantly. A second solo at the end just adds more solo-y goodness to the batch. An excellent song that has more meaning than the previous songs. 5/5
7. Mirror 3:07
Beginning with ambient sounds, and some cool drums, this is another lower point on the album for me. It just seems like filler to me, due to its length, and its structure. There’s no real chorus on it, which isn’t necessarily bad, but at the end, it goes into another weird ending that sounds nothing like the song. It’s pretty much a love song, but doesn’t get anything across like the previous songs. But hey, they had to put something in between two of the best songs on the album, right? 3/5
8. Lackluster 3:18
This song goes in more of a pop-rock direction, with the catchy lyrics and guitars. The main guitar riff isn’t anything special, but damn is it catchy! The guitars also sound like a happier sounding version of Lazy, but not similar enough to be considered reusing. The song is one of those lost love songs, with love being the subject for the last few songs. The choruses are catchier than the verses, if that’s even possible, and after the first one, it breaks down into just the guitar and the pounding drums, which go perfectly in. No solo here, but its unneeded anyways. 4.5/5
9. It’s Alright, We’ll Be Fine 4:32
Despite the happy sounding title, this song sounds quite depressing. It talks about how people can be so insensitive sometimes, and how many people are greedy and selfish. After the depressing verses, the reassuring chorus comes in to save the day, saying to just move on. There’s a violin in here too, which sounds really cool, especially at the end where there’s nothing but the violin. 3.5/5
10. Anywhere But Here 5:28
The song starts with some nice piano, then the drums and bass come in, and then the dreamy lyrics come in. The highlight of the song is the chorus, where Nathan says the main chorus, and is backed by “Trapped, inside, my head” after each line said, which sounds great. There’s no guitar other than the acoustic until the solo, which is just louder guitar playing a simple line, but it fits in well. This would’ve been a great song to close the album with, because it feels very end-y, but the next song ending it didn’t harm it. 4/5
11. Taking Closure 4:25
While the last song’s sound would’ve been perfect to end the album, this song’s title obviously works for it. The guitar really stands out, with Alex playing flamenco styled guitar, which works so well. It’s actually a faster song, with the guitar picking up at the choruses, and then going back to the flamenco style for the verses. The end isn’t as “the end” feeling as you’d hope for, but it doesn’t ruin anything about it. Oh yeah, did I mention that the guitar on this song owns? Right… 4/5
As a debut album, it shows to be very promising, and I can’t wait for more, I give this album a 4.5/5
please give feedback, as this is my first review
