redheaven008
07/07/09, 11:51 AM
Blue October - Approaching Normal
Record Label: Universal
Release Date: March 24, 2009
To start off, I am a huge Blue October fan. The Answers was such a phenomenal album, and then their sophomore effort Consent to Treatment did not disappoint me. Their next album, History for Sale, began achieving them more success after single "Calling You" began mainstream success, but their greatest achievement in the music industry occurred when they released Foiled, which hailed singles "Hate me" and "Into the Ocean." But this also signaled a change in Blue October's music. They began the road into mainstream music.
With Approaching Normal, I was more than a little disappointed. Upon listening to the album, I realized that this was the first Blue October album I would not enjoy. It begins with a weak intro in an overproduced version of "Weight of the World" which was previously released on live album Argue with a Tree and an acoustic version done by lead singer Justin Furstenfeld was released to Youtube. This newest version shows from the get-go that Blue October decided to overdo the production on this album.
The second song on the album, "Say It," is an energetic song that goes back to Furstenfeld's older heartfelt lyrics, with lines like "'A considerate clown, a preachy, preachy machine is one of the sweetest things you would say about me," and "I’m sick of standing in your line so now you’ll have to take it. Take this to heart; I will never let you f*** me over." But when it's all said and done, Furstenfeld's over-the-top whininess shows through in this song along with many others on this album.
"Dirt Room" and "Been Down" are both generic attempts at mainstream success that seem to show Furstenfeld's lack of creativity in his writing. Neither shows much interesting musically other than Ryan Delahoussaye's mandolin riff on "Dirt Room." The 5th song on the album is "My Never," which was previously released via Youtube when Furstenfeld embarked on a cross country tour with writer of the "Twilight" series, Stephanie Meyer. This gained Blue October more popularity among teenage girls, but also was the downfall of this song. Because of this move on Furstenfeld's part, many people have the skewed idea that this song is about the book series, but it's not. But even disregarding that, this song is completely overproduced when they should have kept it as a simple acoustic song.
The next three songs ("Should Be Loved", "Kangaroo Cry", and "Picking Up Pieces") are all valid attempts by the band at memorability, but sadly, they fall short. Although "Should be Loved" contains a catchy guitar line and heartfelt upbeat lyrics, it still falls into the realm of being generic. Both "Kangaroo Cry" and "Picking Up Pieces" are even less memorable.
Following these are the three weakest songs of the album. Furstenfeld tells the story over and over in these songs of how his newly born daughter, Blue, completely changed his life, but this just gets over-the-top and irritating. "Jump Rope" is the only song by Blue October that I've never listened to all the way through.
The final song of the explicit version entitled "The End" is a strong closer and a phenomenal work of art, both musically and lyrically. But it is also extremely explicit, so listen to it with caution. With all of that being said, I was disappointed with this album. It didn't reflect or contain any of the old Blue October that I fell in love with. It lacked Furstenfeld's powerful and emotional lyrics that are so prominent in their previous releases. I wouldn't recommend this album to any fan of Blue October's early releases. If you hear the single off it and you like it, then check it out.
Over Produced mainstream music; Texas alternative rock; violin - Foiled; setting/mood
www.myspace.com/blueoctober (http://www.myspace.com/blueoctober)
Record Label: Universal
Release Date: March 24, 2009
To start off, I am a huge Blue October fan. The Answers was such a phenomenal album, and then their sophomore effort Consent to Treatment did not disappoint me. Their next album, History for Sale, began achieving them more success after single "Calling You" began mainstream success, but their greatest achievement in the music industry occurred when they released Foiled, which hailed singles "Hate me" and "Into the Ocean." But this also signaled a change in Blue October's music. They began the road into mainstream music.
With Approaching Normal, I was more than a little disappointed. Upon listening to the album, I realized that this was the first Blue October album I would not enjoy. It begins with a weak intro in an overproduced version of "Weight of the World" which was previously released on live album Argue with a Tree and an acoustic version done by lead singer Justin Furstenfeld was released to Youtube. This newest version shows from the get-go that Blue October decided to overdo the production on this album.
The second song on the album, "Say It," is an energetic song that goes back to Furstenfeld's older heartfelt lyrics, with lines like "'A considerate clown, a preachy, preachy machine is one of the sweetest things you would say about me," and "I’m sick of standing in your line so now you’ll have to take it. Take this to heart; I will never let you f*** me over." But when it's all said and done, Furstenfeld's over-the-top whininess shows through in this song along with many others on this album.
"Dirt Room" and "Been Down" are both generic attempts at mainstream success that seem to show Furstenfeld's lack of creativity in his writing. Neither shows much interesting musically other than Ryan Delahoussaye's mandolin riff on "Dirt Room." The 5th song on the album is "My Never," which was previously released via Youtube when Furstenfeld embarked on a cross country tour with writer of the "Twilight" series, Stephanie Meyer. This gained Blue October more popularity among teenage girls, but also was the downfall of this song. Because of this move on Furstenfeld's part, many people have the skewed idea that this song is about the book series, but it's not. But even disregarding that, this song is completely overproduced when they should have kept it as a simple acoustic song.
The next three songs ("Should Be Loved", "Kangaroo Cry", and "Picking Up Pieces") are all valid attempts by the band at memorability, but sadly, they fall short. Although "Should be Loved" contains a catchy guitar line and heartfelt upbeat lyrics, it still falls into the realm of being generic. Both "Kangaroo Cry" and "Picking Up Pieces" are even less memorable.
Following these are the three weakest songs of the album. Furstenfeld tells the story over and over in these songs of how his newly born daughter, Blue, completely changed his life, but this just gets over-the-top and irritating. "Jump Rope" is the only song by Blue October that I've never listened to all the way through.
The final song of the explicit version entitled "The End" is a strong closer and a phenomenal work of art, both musically and lyrically. But it is also extremely explicit, so listen to it with caution. With all of that being said, I was disappointed with this album. It didn't reflect or contain any of the old Blue October that I fell in love with. It lacked Furstenfeld's powerful and emotional lyrics that are so prominent in their previous releases. I wouldn't recommend this album to any fan of Blue October's early releases. If you hear the single off it and you like it, then check it out.
Over Produced mainstream music; Texas alternative rock; violin - Foiled; setting/mood
www.myspace.com/blueoctober (http://www.myspace.com/blueoctober)