A Life Exceptional

Critiquing music is a strange medium. I recall cruising around with this CD and not thinking much of it and then somehow it got shuffled in with about the twenty or thirty CD’s navigating the front and backseat at quick stops on seats and the floor. Then I load it on my MP3 player today so that I could go out for a run and end up listening to it about three times and finding that I loved it. 

 

Number one, this is great music to run to. It has a good steady tempo that won’t throw you off your pace and it’s enjoyable to listen to. A Good balance of great lyrics and music with a fine mix. Oh, there is no number two. Not sure why I started it off with number one. 

 

The album has a good amount of diversity. One minute you’re cruising the 80’s, the next the 90’s, all the while you’re moving in this sense of current style. I hear bands like The Black Crows, Incubus, and The Allman Brothers Band in the mix of the bands sound. The flow has a nice high energy to it that  makes you believe these guys are really into both playing music in general and making their own musical contributions as real as possible.

 

Lyrical the album really felt right. I really thought the track “More Then Myself” was a stand out track and a prime example of how to make a song that talks about accepting yourself without making it too whiney (Kelly Clarkson). This track isn’t geared towards anyone, it’s an inward reflection, a step back and realizing that sometimes you get caught up in trying to be something you’re not and sometimes you just need to stop thinking on it so hard, realize who the real is and just be that. There’s no plea for acceptance, no twist of “told you so” in it, it’s just an awesome song about ones self. 

 

So the good points about the album are that it’s high energy, the band really sounds like they are having a good time making music, it’s substance filled lyrically and has a great tandem of music and vocals. Not really many bad points other then some of the songs sound a bit dated here and there, possibly a nod to the bands that came before them. Either way, the bad is something that can be lived with as the album is pretty damn good. I suggest checking Craving Strange out. Enjoy.