Take a Chance on Something Beautiful

Take a Chance on Something Beautiful (2007)
Half Past Forever
***3/4

Great Sound
To some of you, the band Half Past Forever may be an old friend. For others, this is the first time you've ever heard the name. To both groups I say, sit up and listen: the band has a new album. Yes, it's been only a couple years since the band's first, eponymous album (see their myspace here). And yes, sophomore albums have a notorious history. But trust me, this one is better. Much better. And I liked their first album.

The new band draws from eclectic influences, and their sound is all the richer for it. You'll hear hints of The Smashing Pumpkins, the Goo Goo Dolls, Edwin McCain, Switchfoot, Coldplay, Seal, John Mayer, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and more recent band interests like Muse and MuteMath. But where eclecticism (and experimenting) has gotten many sophomore albums in trouble , here it seems only to improve and mature the great sound the band already had with their successful first album. Of course, as some of you may know, the band now has a different makeup than they did on that album, with only one lead singer (Chris Sligh), and new guitarists.

The album's song "Know" has already gotten radio time in some areas, and it and some others seem likely to become popular hits. I would put a personal favorite, "In a Moment," in this group, as well as "Need," "Cry Tonight" and "How Long." Each of these has more of a pop rock feel (Goo Goo Dolls or Hootie & the Blowfish), and uses layers of instrumentation and prominent vocals to deliver an upbeat, catchy sound.

You're just as likely to find songs on the album that may bring the word "arena" to mind. Two songs begin (for better or worse) with a choric "Whoa-oh-o-o-oh" ("Rise" and "Somewhere", both available for play on the band's site), and others incorporate the kind of insistent drum pulsing and the frenetic guitar strumming that just might make you think that Chris and company are jumping around the stage during the instrumental sections of the song. "Closer," "Naive," "Hero" and "Tunnel Vision" also fall into this category. Several of these are more darkly-tinged, leading me to comment to Chris initially that you could summarize the band's first album as "happy" and this one as "sad." Obviously, that's a stereotypical, blanket statement that doesn't take into account the musical complexity that's actually going on. But you will find industrial or Southern rock sound on some tracks in this genre, one of the band's more recent musical developments.

There are also a couple unusual songs on the album. "Waiting" crosses over from the first album in a more polished version, with accelerated tempos and far more exciting musical layers and contrasts. Chris collaborated with his brother Jon to write "Convenience,"  a meditative, almost hypnotic song that manages to mix insightful lyrics, a depressive edge, sections of building tension that reminded me of those in "A Day in the Life," and closing lyrics sung a la Gnarls Barkley. "Gone" is one of the more interesting songs on the album, a fascinating mix of blues, industrial elements, and rock that gives Chris's voice a chance to shine. And one of the love-it-or-just-like-it elements of the album is the inclusion of two instrumental tracks (perhaps an homage to those on MuteMath's album). I've already told Chris that I'm only in the "like" category -- mainly because I feel the sound is too different, but I'll leave you to make your own decision.

Great Writing, Great Vocals
Though you'll want to hear this album for the music, I get this odd feeling that many may just want to hear Chris Sligh. Not that I blame you. Even though the band has continued to develop a distinctive sound, Chris's songwriting and especially his great singing are what have made Half Past Forever a band you will love to listen to.

Chris was classically trained, but has been singing popular music for years. His voice falls into the high baritone range, with clear and full tone, solid pitch on a huge range from slight rasp to power belting, and a warm breadth that keeps it from becoming either overwhelming or underwhelming. His sustained notes have nice vibrato edges, and there's a particular quality to his consonants that you may not notice but that subtly makes his sound memorable.

Though I tried to group the songs above into easy categories, there is an astonishing range in the writing here (Chris wrote all of them). Chris tells me that he hates albums that sound good, but whose songs are pretty much the same thing reworked and reworked into different songs. A good album needs to have a variety of tempos and sounds, and Take a Chance on Something Beautiful gives you just that. Many of the songs are also great poems. The lyrics are maturely Christian, and the entire album is one long musical take of meditations on believing life in a fallen world.

One of the most interesting elements of the music to me was the bridge that Chris would write into each song. In my opinion, the bridge is where you can tell a great songwriter from one who's just okay, sort of like how you can tell the level of restaurant by whether they use paper or cloth napkins. People who are really into music or restaurants appreciate the extra thought. Some of the bridges on this album fit their songs seamlessly, like the Seal-inspired meditation at the centre of "Naive" or the urgent, John Mayer-tinged break in "Cry Tonight." Some bridges work but fit their songs a little oddly, like the slow country section that interrupts the high-energy "Know" or the Hendrix-infused guitar that begins "Hero's" bridge but merges into a folksy trio. And then some are unusual matches that are musically brilliant, like the reggae bridge that relieves the hard-edged "Closer" or the 70s-era guitar duo and Beach Boys segue that add some humor to "Tunnel Vision." The bridge at the heart of "In a Moment" begins with the promise of nothing more than the norm, until it transposes keys and back again and fades off to voice and piano, leaving the last chorus to leap in as a pleasant surprise.

It's been a great pleasure to follow Chris musically from his obscure first albums like Berg: Vessel and The Chris Sligh Band through recent bands like Half Past Forever and its offshoot The Exciting Mr. Brown. He was also kind enough to share this new album with me at two different stages in the production process, this second time just before the album's release. The final product is something that many, many people are going to love. I hope its success (and Chris's) will ensure that we'll be able to hear this band's great music for years to come.

Comments

[Fisher]

Hey Will!

We met at the Chris Sligh AI party. I just found this review again and read it over again. I applaud you for your efforts and for your amazing insights into Half Past Forever's music. Thank you for putting together such a cohesive and streamlined glimpse into the new album.

I totally apoligize for the comment I made about one of the Chris Sligh pictures. I actually meant it to be more of a funny observation and I certainly meant no offense to you or your work here. I'm sorry. You deserve high praise for this article. Thanks man!

[Phil Wilson]

Thanks for the links to the songs. For the first time, I'm tempted to vote for someone on AI.

[Kenny]

I saw Chris (lead singer) on American idol last week and I found their album on myspace. I can't get enough! My calendar is marked for Feb 20th!

[Chris Sligh]

Wow. What an honor to have you review the album, Will. The reveiw really is fantastic...you saw insights that in writing the album I had hopes that people would see, but didn't expect them to. Thanks so much for the review.

Also, we decided in the eleventh hour to release the album without the instrumental tracks...so your opinion is worth more than you know.

The album drops, by the way, on February 20.

Chris

[Tom]

Chris Sligh also sounds like Vertical Horizon, in vocal quality and music sytle. :)
I'm serious, listen to their album GO.