Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3/5 Released: March 20, 2007 Reviewer: Connor Turner |
Things Couldn’t Be Better is a transitional record for Hamilton’s The Reason; one which finds the four-piece exploring new sounds and expanding upon their punk rock roots. With the help of producer Gavin Brown (recently of Billy Talent fame), The Reason are trying to emerge from the hotly contested Canadian indie music scene, as this countries next Mobile or Metric. Brown pushes them into different territory on their second album and The Reason are more than up for the challenge.
The tracks on Things Couldn’t Be Better run the gamut of modern rock. There are tracks that are comparable to Sparta, Brand New, Dashboard Confessional, the aforementioned Mobile, Alexisonfire and early Get up Kids. From the stark and vulnerable opening chords of ‘My Broken Legs’ until the catchy duet with Sara Quin on ‘We’re so Beyond This’; The Reason prove that they can craft a perfect pop melody or something of harder fare.
Unfortunately, so much experimentation seems to be a double edged sword. By touching on so many sounds, the band fails to establish a definitive identity. The Reason seem to be disorganized, which takes away from the band’s fantastic song writing ability. There are numerous potential hit tracks on the album, but each one is so different that it becomes almost impossible to unify them under one sound. If the Reason can find a unique voice, there will be plenty of incentive to pick-up future releases.
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