So I'm sitting on my couch watching The Goonies like any healthy 23 year old and my roommate sitting next to me gets a phone call. Despite my looks of annoyance due to the interruption of one of the greatest movies ever made he continues his conversation and loudly announces that Lydia has come out with a new album. Now at this point I act like it's big news but in the back of my mind I'm thinking... eh. Lydia was one of my favorite bands in high school and honestly I still love their first few albums but I was wary of any new music due to knowing that the only original member of the band is the singer (Leighton Antelman.) To me the one thing that made Lydia so intriguing in the past was the amazing guitar from Steve McGraw and backing vocals of Mindy White... okay, maybe I only miss Mindy because she is so damn good looking but either way I thought this new album could never live up to it's older siblings reputations.
The album starts off with a simple song called Hailey. This piano based song immediately brings attention to the fact that this is not the same band. In prior albums every song has a huge sound that brings out Leighton's impressive vocals but when there isn't that dynamic it feels a little off balance. Steve's guitar is what gave it the massive sound and he is definitely missed on this album.
The next couple of songs are a little more of what I expect when I listen to Lydia. Dragging Your Feet In The Mud starts off with a similar feel to the first track but builds to a big chorus. Eat Your Heart Out is a song that starts out with an acoustic guitar and quickly turns into an emotion evoking anthem that is one of my favorite songs on the record but the feeling that is captured is short lived due to the next track.
The following song is entitled Get It Right and I actually like the first half of this song but what happens at the 1:30 mark should never happen ever in any way, shape or form in a Lydia song. They try to incorporate dub step... yuck, I know. It feels forced and uninspired. They could have easily used some type of synth sound to fill up the final portion of the song but it's too late now and with that song I consider it the end of the first half of the album.
The second half of the album is very much like any other Lydia record. Lots of heart felt lyrics and big choruses but nothing new. It seems as if the missing members has pushed Leighton to make a record that mimics the sound of Lydia of the past. The songs aren't bad, in fact, I really enjoy the second half of the album, I only wish that he would have tried to evolve a little bit more.
Leighton knows how to sing with emotion and paint a picture with his colorful lyrics and that is really the sole reason I still thoroughly enjoy most of this record. It's a record that new fans will put on their iPods but hardcore fans might not catch it's fever like they might have if it was the original band.
