Lifehouse – 鈥楢lmeria鈥�
Lifehouse鈥檚 sixth album and first new release in over two years shows a maturing band willing to take risks.
I fondly recall the band鈥檚 debut, 鈥淣o Name Face,鈥� bursting on the scene back in 2000, fueled by the infectious hit 鈥淗anging by a Moment.鈥� It was during the same time period that Cameron Crowe released 鈥淎lmost Famous.鈥� The entertaining coming-of-age movie tells the story of a high schooler given the opportunity to tour with a new band while writing for Rolling Stone magazine. I remember thinking to myself after watching the movie that the character William Miller had stolen my gig. I comforted myself by blasting some Pearl Jam, Van Halen, Cheap Trick and Lifehouse. Odd the things you remember. For 鈥淎lmeria,鈥� frontman Jason Wade stated he was looking to shake things up by expanding the band鈥檚 sound. Produced by longtime collaborator Jude Cole, the new material experiments with various styles while still staying true to the pop-rock sound delivered on earlier albums. The lead single, 鈥淏etween the Raindrops,鈥� features Natasha Bedingfield joining Wade for a stylishly smooth and infectious arrangement that illustrates the band鈥檚 musical evolution. 鈥淩ight Back Home鈥� is a smoldering blues number featuring Peter Frampton on lead guitar and Charles Jones on backing vocals and Hammond organ. The band shifts gears once again on 鈥淏arricade,鈥� delivering a relaxed country feel punctuated with steel guitar. The album closes with the introspective piano ballad 鈥淎ftermath,鈥� as Wade offers up a passionate and intimate end to an album full of gratifying twists and turns. I had the opportunity to see Lifehouse perform with Matchbox Twenty many years ago. With the zealous 鈥淎lmeria,鈥� I鈥檓 sorry that I missed the band鈥檚 September show at PNC Park. For now, you can see Lifehouse make a live television appearance during FOX鈥檚 New Year鈥檚 Eve broadcast.