Lifehouse – Almeria

Lifehouse is an American rock band from Los Angeles, comprising four members: Jason Wade (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick Woolstenhulme, Jr. (drums, percussion), Bryce Soderberg (bass guitar, back-up vocals) and Ben Carey (lead guitar).

In the foreground lead singer Jason Wade. 
In the background, starting from left: Bryce Soderberg, Rick Woolstenhulme, Jr., Ben Carey.

Up until the present day Lifehouse has released six studio albums: No Name Face; Stanley Climbfall; Lifehouse; Who We Are; Smoke & Mirrors and Almería. The latest album titled Almeria was released in 2012, on December 11 in the US and December 12 worldwide. It is available for listening in Spotify, the digital music service: Lifehouse - Almeria @ Spotify. Anyone in search of a good melody should listen to their newest album, which is definitely one to add to your collection. Almeria, the title of which refers to the southeast Spanish city where a number of classic western films have been filmed, is something more different than their previous work. It is southern rock filled with a good amount of country and even a hint of blues that make it optimistic and slightly lighter album than their previous ones, but yet it is as meaningful and expressive as Lifehouse has always been. Wade himself illustrates this kind of musical chance by the following: "We just knew we had to go back to the drawing board and try something new. We felt like our sound needed to evolve and to change”. Therefore, it is cool to see, that they are brave to experiment with new ideas in music. Now about tracks of Almeria.

1. “Gotta Be Tonight”. Great start. Like to the western notes and vocals. Positive refrain: Gotta keep your head up and move along. It creates good expectations for listening to the following tracks!

2. "Between the Raindrops" (featuring Natasha Bedingfield). Cherry on top. Beautiful. Dreamy. Audible. Neat. Bedingfield’s vocals harmonize with Wade’s perfectly. One of my personal favourites from this album. It is the only song that has an official video. Magical and dreamy like the song itself. Check it out here:

3. "Nobody Listen". Rhythmical, captivating melody. Makes me want to listen to it once again. Great backing vocals. Refrain makes a good point, a problem that should be paid more attention: Everybody talk but nobody listen.

4. "Moveonday". Rockiest song. Nice intro by electric guitar. It proposes to be something different from previous tracks. Don’t have to disappoint. Awesome, catchy melody. A little bit bittersweet. Once again, vocally perfect.

5. "Slow Motion". Well, like the title says, it is slow. Good cool down to previous catchy track. Interesting melody.

6. "Only You're the One". My other favourite from this album. Meaningful. Powerful. Great. Smooth verses. Repeat to this one!

7. "Where I Come From". Filled with a slightly happier note than the previous one. A beautiful song about love. Peaceful yet fascinating.

8. "Right Back Home" (featuring Peter Frampton and Charles Jones). Alluring intro. Quicker melody. Lots of western country oriented elements. Big like to the surprising guitar solo.

9. "Barricade". Slow and simple melodious love song.     

10. "Aftermath". A surprising start with a piano. Still slow like previous one, yet simple and harmonious. Suitable cool down to the whole album. 

Consequently, Almeria is a meaningful solid album, consisting of songs that are filled with country, rock, pop and blues elements. Lifehouse does not any longer focus on fixing broken souls, like they mostly did in their previous musical creation. For example if you want to listen to their previous music with a depressive note, then you should listen to songs titled “Broken”, “Blind” or “Whatever it takes”. Yet many of their songs from previous albums like “Hanging by a moment”, “You and Me”, “First Time”, “Halfway gone”, “All in” are worth listening to make it understandable that not all of their previous music production was melancholic, but there were many pretty fascinating songs which I would like to bring to notice. But now with Almeria they seem generally happier to offer light and meaningful textures to their listeners. In effect, their music as a whole has become much brighter, happier, and lighter than ever before. These qualities make Almeria one of their best albums. Although it is different from their earlier albums, it truly works as a whole! It still has a lot of variety on it, so that everyone can find something they really like. Lifehouse was and still is great at experimenting with different instruments and sounds, which keeps them interesting and fresh. Almeria is definitely a great album for everyday listening in whatever mood you are. Recommended!

Kätlin Hõrrak