CheekyChicago

Dear Lifehouse,

Alright guys. I listened to your newest release, Smoke & Mirrors, and I wanted to like it. I really did. I own all of your CDs (how old-fashioned of me!) and I’ve seen you perform live – probably about four times now – so when I heard that this album would try to capture the live energy of your shows, I was absolutely interested. Sadly, I have to admit I was disappointed.

It’s not that there’s not a difference between this and your previous releases; this one is slightly more edgy at points – and I say “at points” because, well, I had a hard time paying attention. I’d start at the beginning and then before I knew it, ten songs had played and I had hardly tuned in at all. As I’m sure you can imagine, it just made me very sad.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled you haven’t faded into oblivion. Ten years, five albums – I’d say there’s a definite indication of “staying power” in those statistics.  It just feels like there was more depth on No Name Face than there is on Smoke & Mirrors.

Which brings me to the songwriting. Sorry, Jason Wade. I know you write or co-write most of the songs for the band, and for the most part I’ve always appreciated your lyrics. But, um, what exactly happened there?  The song “All In,” for example? “I’m calling, calling out your name / Even if I lose the game / I’m all in tonight / Yeah, I’m all in for life.” …Really? Because it seems to me that if you lose that bet, then you’d sort of regret that decision.

I don’t know… maybe this is a whole case of “It’s not you, it’s me.” I mean, you’ve already sold 54,000 copies and debuted at #6 on the Billboard chart – which is impressive. “Halfway Gone” is a catchy pop single, and I’m sure my mom will make that her ringback tone soon enough (it was “Broken” for the better part of last year, if you must know).

I’m all for changing things up a bit – kudos on adding Ben Carey as your new guitarist and having bassist Bryce Soderberg sing lead vocal on “Wrecking Ball,” by the way – but it appears that you’re sticking to that safety net of Adult Contemporary Top 40 something or other. And if that’s a sign of maturity, I think I’d rather not grow up.

Signed,

Amanda