Matthew Tsai
09/25/09, 04:31 PM
Hawk Nelson - Live Life Loud
Record Label: BEC Recordings
Release Date: September 22, 2009
Think early 2000's pre-teen: unfamiliar with Blink-182 or Sum 41, Relient K too popular for the inner elitist-in-training, and Mom and Dad's morals still loom imperiously. That was me a decade ago, and I loved Hawk Nelson back then. Loved. Would have even married. But mostly, just loved. Saturday Rock Action, Letters To The President and Smile, It's the End of the World each opened the towering gates of pop-punk and invited me in to the glorious genre in their Pied Piper ways, and I invested thousands of plays into them. Their music astounded me, and I loved it.
Then I discovered "good" music, and the fling was over in an ugly snap. I payed little attention to Hawk Nelson... Is Your Friend, or whatever the album was called and scooted as far away from Hawk Nelson as possible. We simply did not see eye-to-eye anymore - they were all about formula in their music, and I craved experimentation in mine. I found better pop-punk acts, and acts that were surprisingly not pop-punk (they exist!?). Hawk Nelson was an infinitesimal commodity of the past.
And so I was nostalgic when I heard Live Life Loud. It's the familiar happy-go-lucky vibe of "Live Life Loud," the Sum 41-is-my-hero drive of "Never Enough" and "The Job," and even the tongue in cheek dreams of "Ode To Lord Stanley" that bring me back to the old days of the domination of the Hawk. I mean, virtually nothing has changed. The lyrics are still piss poor, they still get a plethora of writers to help write some of the most generic songs on the planet, and best of all, a good chunk of the product is still simply excellent. All the factors of an HN classic are here: check, check, check.
Just look at the lineup. "Live Life Loud" kicks off over 40 minutes of pop frenzy with cheerleaders screaming about having fun, a necessary intro for the aspiring "Never Enough," where vocalist Jason Dunn sings, "Some days I spend all day on the phone / And other days I would just rather be alone" over a faux-tough guy attitude. Lyrically it's a cringer, but the song understands Sum 41 well enough to pull off a rocking tune. "Eggshells" is an off-kilter ballad, and "The Meaning Of Life" has enough strings to make a home on radio airwaves. "Alive" sounds like punk rock goes post-hardcore with its The Receiving End of Sirens-saluting opening, and "'Tis So Sweet" is the most energetic rendition of a hymn to be done in years.
Some tracks aren't done so well. "The Job" and "The Meaning of Life" both have that lackluster approach that sours their playback value. But when Live Life Loud aims for quality, we get quality. "Long Ago" is the highlight track, featuring an impossibly catchy chorus dripping with a Beach Boys/Sherwood flavor and is arguably the band's magnum opus. Though "Shaken" and "Lest We Forget" are also gorgeous ballads, no song comes close to touching the pop/rock gold "Long Ago" boasts. If Hawk Nelson studies it closely, maybe they could finally break away from their strictly teenage fanbase.
It's funny that coming back to Hawk Nelson would help me discover a good pop/rock album. Despite all their pre-pubescent energy (and awkward lyrics), Live Life Loud still somehow ends up better than a good chunk of the releases in the genre today. Come on, All Time Low? The Maine? I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather go with these guys. And that should be enough to convince most of you out there to at least check this out.
Record Label: BEC Recordings
Release Date: September 22, 2009
Think early 2000's pre-teen: unfamiliar with Blink-182 or Sum 41, Relient K too popular for the inner elitist-in-training, and Mom and Dad's morals still loom imperiously. That was me a decade ago, and I loved Hawk Nelson back then. Loved. Would have even married. But mostly, just loved. Saturday Rock Action, Letters To The President and Smile, It's the End of the World each opened the towering gates of pop-punk and invited me in to the glorious genre in their Pied Piper ways, and I invested thousands of plays into them. Their music astounded me, and I loved it.
Then I discovered "good" music, and the fling was over in an ugly snap. I payed little attention to Hawk Nelson... Is Your Friend, or whatever the album was called and scooted as far away from Hawk Nelson as possible. We simply did not see eye-to-eye anymore - they were all about formula in their music, and I craved experimentation in mine. I found better pop-punk acts, and acts that were surprisingly not pop-punk (they exist!?). Hawk Nelson was an infinitesimal commodity of the past.
And so I was nostalgic when I heard Live Life Loud. It's the familiar happy-go-lucky vibe of "Live Life Loud," the Sum 41-is-my-hero drive of "Never Enough" and "The Job," and even the tongue in cheek dreams of "Ode To Lord Stanley" that bring me back to the old days of the domination of the Hawk. I mean, virtually nothing has changed. The lyrics are still piss poor, they still get a plethora of writers to help write some of the most generic songs on the planet, and best of all, a good chunk of the product is still simply excellent. All the factors of an HN classic are here: check, check, check.
Just look at the lineup. "Live Life Loud" kicks off over 40 minutes of pop frenzy with cheerleaders screaming about having fun, a necessary intro for the aspiring "Never Enough," where vocalist Jason Dunn sings, "Some days I spend all day on the phone / And other days I would just rather be alone" over a faux-tough guy attitude. Lyrically it's a cringer, but the song understands Sum 41 well enough to pull off a rocking tune. "Eggshells" is an off-kilter ballad, and "The Meaning Of Life" has enough strings to make a home on radio airwaves. "Alive" sounds like punk rock goes post-hardcore with its The Receiving End of Sirens-saluting opening, and "'Tis So Sweet" is the most energetic rendition of a hymn to be done in years.
Some tracks aren't done so well. "The Job" and "The Meaning of Life" both have that lackluster approach that sours their playback value. But when Live Life Loud aims for quality, we get quality. "Long Ago" is the highlight track, featuring an impossibly catchy chorus dripping with a Beach Boys/Sherwood flavor and is arguably the band's magnum opus. Though "Shaken" and "Lest We Forget" are also gorgeous ballads, no song comes close to touching the pop/rock gold "Long Ago" boasts. If Hawk Nelson studies it closely, maybe they could finally break away from their strictly teenage fanbase.
It's funny that coming back to Hawk Nelson would help me discover a good pop/rock album. Despite all their pre-pubescent energy (and awkward lyrics), Live Life Loud still somehow ends up better than a good chunk of the releases in the genre today. Come on, All Time Low? The Maine? I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather go with these guys. And that should be enough to convince most of you out there to at least check this out.