Artist: Nevertheless
Album: Spark
Label: Flicker Records
Release Date: September 16th, 2008
Review by: Tyler Hess
- Sleeping In
- It’s True
- Cross My Heart
- It’s No Secret
- Rest
- I Needed This
- Longshot
- Augustine
- Topics
- When I’m Alone
- I Found My Way Back Again
Quite frankly, if you are into pop rock and do not appreciate Nevertheless’ new album, In The Making…, I am just not buying your excuses. I have heard that their lyrics are devoid of hope, I have heard that they are generic, I have heard that they are slower than their previous effort, “Live Like We’re Alive”, and that there is too much piano. I am making a stand in my first review for IVM, declaring that Nevertheless has improved, Joshua’s vocals have matured and that they are defining their sound. Nevertheless addresses real issues that many younger people can relate to, not just high school and middle schoolers, but the college and young adults as well. I will make only one concession, which is that the vocals do sound a bit too much like Matthew Thiessen’s of Relient K, reminding me a bit of the slower songs on “MMHMM”.
Starting off “with Sleeping In”, Nevertheless bring me back not that long ago, when it seemed so difficult to start a day, not wanting to face the day’s problems, but hoping that there is some way that there is a better way. The album as a whole has similar themes, ones of not having the strength to do things on our own, realizing that we need God in our lives to face life with courage and strength.
“Longshot” is probably the one that people are going to be pointing to as the love/hate song of the album, one that sounds like it was made to be a single, one that says “here’s a song everyone can sing along too, hooray!” It is catchy, it is fun, it probably doesn’t break any originality scales even for the youngsters, but I have never had a problem with fun.
More than any other song, I want to point everyone to a song that if it doesn’t touch your heart, then it truly saddens me. Bands often spend much of their time talking to kids that don’t feel like they have anyone they can talk to, but for some reason they can open up to musicians to whom they feel they can relate. “Topics” addresses the ones who have those kids in their lives, yet cause them for one reason or another to not be able to open up, perhaps because we suppress them from doing so. It is a beautiful, heartfelt song that brings reality into our lives, making us think a little deeper about what is going on and how we can make a difference in people’s lives for the better.
For those who are fans of album art, those who have to get the CD just for the insert if nothing else, this one is quite simple, having the typical band photos, with a simple but pleasurable layout that matches well with their music and readable lyrics with the chorus in bold. One thing I did notice, being the bitter failure of a spelling bee contestant that I am, there are some misprints on the lyrics that just don’t match up correctly, which I can’t believe still happens regularly. It really shouldn’t be so hard for someone to do a once through before printing these things.
As a whole, the album can blend together a bit, but has so many good songs to choose from, that I have had a hard time listening to anything else the past week, not wanting to put this one down.
So there you have it, my first IVM review, please discuss. Brandon asked me to do ratings to keep with the format, it isn’t really my thing, I would rather you talk about the album, but it is up to you. Thanks guys.
9/10
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