Lifehouse first took the music industry by storm in 2000 with the most played radio hit of the year, “Hanging By A Moment” off of their first release, No Name Face.
Gaining fame and success as a result of “Hanging By A Moment” and the other hits off of their first album, “Sick Cycle Carousel” and “Breathing,” they returned in 2002 with their sophomore release Stanley Climbfall.
Now with a new bass player, Bryce Soderberg, and returning members lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Jason Wade and drummer Rick Woolstenhulme, Lifehouse is back again for a third time with their new self titled release.
Continuing with the same thought provoking lyrics that cross the line of what some would consider to be music in the Christian rock realm, Lifehouse makes the statement of questioning what is around them and taking the level of maturity that was present in their two previous albums to the next level. Along with the perfect musical accompaniment to Jason Wade’s writing, Lifehouse makes the perfect alt. pop-rock band for anyone looking for great music these days.
Longtime friend to the band, as well as a notable songwriter, Jude Cole, whom has had some success of his own in the music industry as a singer/songwriter, and has also been with the band from the start when they first recorded No Name Face, was the executive producer for this album.
The new album first got a lot of hype with the success of their first single, “You and Me,” which got popular through radio and the popular music downloading site, I-tunes.
On songs like “Blind,” Wade sings about a love that never happened, but still carries around some of the pain from it as a result of letting go with, “when my love for you was blind/but I couldn’t make you see it/couldn’t make you see it/ That I loved you more/then you will ever know/ and a part of me died/ when I let you go.”
Or on their first single, “You and Me,” Wade sings about finding that someone that you can’t take your eyes off of when you meet for the first time but nothing tends to go right, “all of the things that I want to say just aren’t coming out right/ I’m tripping on words you got my head spinning/ I don’t know where to go from here/ cause it’s you and me and all of the people/with nothing to lose, and nothing to prove/and it’s you and me and all of the people/and I can’t keep my eyes off of you.”
On this album, they take a slightly different musical approach, using more string arrangements, and relying on an organ for their song, “Chapter One,” where Wade sings about taking chances and making sense of life through the madness, with “what happens when all your dreams are lying on the ground/do you pick up the pieces all around/and if the world should fall apart hold on to what you know/ take your chances turn around and go.”
Lifehouse has shown maturity and has always taken their musical abilities to the next level with the success of their previous albums. This album, like No Name Face and Stanley Climbfall, has shown great maturity lyrically and musically, and they have nowhere to go but up with the way they’re headed with their music.