Almeria

Lifehouse say hello to Spain

For a decade now, the American band Lifehouse has been bringing us joy with their music, regularly delivering quality studio records and playing big arena gigs. Many would still name Hanging My A Moment as their best one in their discography because this track, featured on the debut album No Name Face, launched the ensemble’s rise to fame. In these ten years, Lifehouse has considerably changed their style as they sacrificed alternative sound and sophisticated lyrics for a more radio-friendly format, but even today nobody will dare state that the musicians have traded their talent and creativity for the love of millions. Their fresh, already sixth, long player under the title Almeria in some ways brings their style back to the original shape, yet not so much in terms of content of music material as in terms of how far their song-writing goes. Almeria is a port city in the south of Spain, a picturesque place where famous spaghetti western were filmed, including classics by the legendary Sergio Leone. Thus the cover of the album is much like a billboard for a motion picture of that kind, and that is why the music of Lifehouse again bears influence of schools and traditions having little to do with rock.

Almeria is a journey from pop rock to blues

From the very first track to its last, Almeria sounds like a massive and epic anthem with a multiple tempo breaks and variety of tunes. The energy-laden start provided by Gotta Be Tonight sets up an optimistic mood, and the follow-up single Between The Raindrops strengthens the faith in the success of this record. The vocal part of Natasha Bedingfield could have turned another song into a glamorous and aggressive pop hit, but here the brilliant instrumental work by the musicians makes it a more manifold piece than just a generic radio product for massive consumption. The musical style of Almeria is a big mix of pop rock, western soundtrack, gospel and blues. The last component is the most influential here, the one that was missing on the latest albums by Lifehouse which failed to bring something extraordinary. Whereas Between The Raindrops is still more like a pop hit with a colorful chorus and catchy melody, the title of the most interesting and musically developed song is awarded to Right Back Home with that very bluesy ingredient. The lyrics, a complete story, has the same highest level of execution.

Lifehouse play for movies and sing for hearts

The cinematic effect of Almeria reaches its peak in Only You’re The One, and Where I Come From. The former is an exclusively powerful emotional ballad with a dramatic vocal line and a chorus that can bring thousands to ecstasy during live shows. The latter is a perfect theme for an adventure motion picture, a dynamic song full of positive thinking and motivation. A nostalgic effect is produced by Moveonday, a track with clanging guitars and a classic rock and roll chorus, which must remind the band’s old fans of good old times when Lifehouse albums were full of suchlike things. Barricade, and Aftermath unite as one lengthy and touching farewell at the end of the album. The brooding and melancholic tone of these two run counter to the general atmosphere of Almeria, yet we can rest assured that Lifehouse still remember how to make breaks from loud choruses and trite wordings for a more thoughtful text and fragile mood. As a conclusion, Almeria does a great job collecting the best moments and ideas of the musicians from the band’s different periods. This is a very interesting and largely unpredictable album from an ensemble where they like being different from others.