First time around I felt like Parachutes sophomore effort felt like your standard pop rock fair. Fly Magazine stated that Parachute is the Goldilocks of pop rock; Neither to hot nor to cold but just right. That statement seemed like an accurate representation of the band. From experience I know not to judge an album off of just one or two rounds so threw The Way It Was on my Ipod and went for a leisurely drive. An hour later my mind was changed.

I’m not going to say that the album breaks loose from its light pop rock approach but there are layers to discover. For starters the band is without a doubt a pop rock outfit but their lyrics are more country with narratives that tell stories, not just about things like love and heartbreak, but they flesh out the people in the stories as well. Sure songs like Forever and Always and Kiss Me Slowly will cater more towards The Notebook and Forever Young fans out there but for all its syrupy goodness Parachute makes them beautiful songs all their own. Then you have a song like Something To Believe In that completely throws you for a loop. Horns? Gospel choir? A funky backbeat? While it is a welcome change up in the bands overall sound the magnitude in which Parachute rises here is also a bit of a curse knowing that they can come alive at that level yet their album is mostly a soft affair. Overall though the album is a safe bet if you’re a pop rock fan. Its commercially accessible and easy to listen to without to much to complain about other then, well, its safe. Obviously the band can do better and hopefully, if this is their plan, they gain that commercial success to earn themselves a following so they can skip ahead to their gold years when their mission is to completely blow our minds with more songs like Something To Believe In and What I Know while staying tuned with that great songwriting ability. Definitely worth checking out but it’s shelf life seems rather shaky. As always final judgment is yours. Enjoy.