Lifehouse Travels All Over The Map But Reaches Few Fully Satisfying Destinations

To any artist out there in any field who feels compelled to grow as his/her career takes flight I say more power to you. Sometimes however there's much to be said for allowing listeners to reap the full reward of a template of expression that sounds more than just an idle jam session here, a thought balloon that pops too quickly there. It's this growth impulse that dooms Lifehouse's new album "Almeria" to suffer the disappointment which stems from potential not fully realized. From a commercial standpoint, Lifehouse is already six albums into its collective career. The yen to spread one's wings is understandable. A stale sound doesn't benefit anyone. All I ask is that the completed tracks sound like the ideas were carried to their proper conclusions. "Aftermath" is a fine example of a track that was given enough room to blossom. From the opening wash of piano this track is allowed to impress people with the richness of its personality. Jason Wade's words carry with them a stout resolve, an implied understanding of strength that makes you want to follow him wherever he's going. Rick Woolstenhulme, Jr's. drumming turns this story's pages. As a listener I am curious to learn what's coming around the next bend. Here it's all about the storm and how steady optimism carries the power to get through the rough stuff. Lyrically I'd be remiss if I didn't pat Jason on the back for carrying "Barricade" to term largely due to the novelty of visuals such as "I'm  in your blind spot". Folks, over the decades many a car song has surfaced on the airwaves but nowhere has a blind spot been given the credit it undoubtedly deserves. Those of you movie lovers out there who delighted in The Blind Side recall Sandra Bullock explaining to us how protecting the quarterback from what he doesn't see coming, safeguarding "the blind side", is an integral part of keeping the QB at the least upright and, at the most armed with greater odds for success. The music industry can get weighed down in "been there, heard that" ideas so readily. Thanks to Lifehouse one rarely touched upon aspect of car ownership has gotten its due. As for "Barricade" the just over 3-minute song, you've got Ben Carey's lead guitar to thank for setting the stage for a honky-tonk laced jolt of romantic reflection. Extended to 4 or 5 minutes it likely would've gotten tedious in a hurry. Good job on knowing when to declare your peace completely spoken. If "Almeria" was populated with tracks like "Aftermath" and "Barricade" and nothing beyond that, this record would have more to recommend it. As it stands there are too many unfinished ideas that won't ever reach full flower. There's "Gotta Be Tonight" which is all primeval and no production. You can't sell a song through down and dirty percussion unless you're part of Queen or Van Halen. The message is easy enough to translate. "We're young right now. Let's take our chances right now before the window of opportunity slams shut for good, before the door's cruel slam smacks against each chamber of our not completely jaded hearts". I care but that theme's been touched on in so many ways by so many people that the empathy's very hard to come by at this point. I care but not enough to want to race to the record store or scramble to load this to my iPod. No novelty means no gold star. I see why Natasha Bedingfield's guest appearance was culled as the leadoff single. "Between The Raindrops" demonstrates purpose. Bryce Soderberg's bass guitar is battle-tested. Jason and Natasha's voices go quite well together. The overall heartbeat of this song is steady. You learn to appreciate a pace that doesn't threaten to crumble under the weight of urgency. In the case of rock legend Peter Frampton's inclusion on "Right Back Home" what results comes off sounding like nothing more than the new wave awkwardly trying to give props to the old guard. It's nice to welcome Peter back but if the purpose was solely to ease guest stars into the mix so art crowds could name drop then the energy was misspent to a great degree. Lifehouse shouldn't be ashamed of trying to evolve musically as they advance biologically. However, this Jekyll/Hyde collection of too little too late meshed with the occasional flash of fully realized pathos doesn't warrant a slot in the vanguard of first rate pop/rock albums