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Howie
Day
Stop All the World Now
label: Sony
released: 10.07.03
our score: 3.0 out of 5.0
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Pass
It to the Left, Howie Needs a Hit
by:
nick evans |
Its hard to
categorize Howie Day as just one thing. Stop all the World
Now takes on the same kind of personality and identity as
John Mayer's Heavier Things or Jason Mraz' latest took
on their latest albums. But at the same time, there's a lingering
tinge of indie credibility (he's performing at Coachela- every
indie kid's wet dream concert).
With Stop
All the World Now, he starts right where Australia
ended and goes for a more upbeat, poppier edge on most of the
songs, most notably the first single,
"Perfect Time of Day." The opening guitar riffs on the
song "Collide" and lyrics from "Brace Yourself"
sound like they could have come from any commercial, radio-bound
"Artist". (the first lyrics on the album: "So,
you think/ you can hold the world up by a string"). He does,
however, try to seperate himself from the rest of the pack with
the last 3 songs. "You and a Promise" sounds alot like
an ode
to Bono, and "Come Lay Down" has all the wonderful weirdness
of Radiohead and Robert Plant rolled into
it.
With that
said, one could definately conclude this album is inconsistent.
A few true gems are sandwiched between
generic, typical radio-hungry songs.
Despite all
its shortcomings, it is a hard album not to like. He's a young,
likeable musician with a promising career ahead of him. It's definately
not something to hear when on a search for originality, and is
more ideal for an Avril fan rather than a Thom fan. It seems Howie
is
desperate for a hit (let us not remember the unfortunate
step Liz Phair took last year) and seems to be abandoning his
initial college-age fanbase for VH1 video spins. But oh well.
The album serves its purpose.
07-Apr-2004
9:03 PM
If you
liked Stop All the Day Now...
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| Tracklist:
1.
Brace Yourself
2. Perfect Time of Day
3. Collide
4. Trouble In Here
5. Sunday Morning Song
6. I'll Take You On
7. She Says
8. Numbness for Sound
9. You & A Promise
10. End of Our Days
11. Come Lay Down
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