Mother the Mechanic & The Path
This overly ambitious three-CD set begins strongly enough with "The Mechanic," an intense, rock-driven song cycle that affirms this quintet's status as a bright and shining hope for American pop music. There are hits ("The Rest Of My Life," "Decoration"), a moody, country-inflected experiment ("No Good At Saying Sorry (One More Chance)") and a pause for some fist-thumping arena rock ("The One That You Hated"). It's only in the disc's final moments, on the track "Figure It Out," that the excitement begins to flicker but even then the New Jersey-based band manages to stand stronger than most. Left on its own, "The Mechanic" could easily be one of the best emo records to emerge this year.Instead, the band continue with a second act, "The Mother," which shows a great deal of promise at the start. Tracks such as the whimsical, Beatles-influenced "Hair," the Ben Folds nod "Driving South," and even the out-and-out emo anthem "A Little More Time" highlight the group's greatest asset: the ability to craft a swelling chorus that's rife with rich harmonies and jangly, energetic guitar hooks. But as quick as this act begins, it begins to fall apart as the songs growing increasingly weak, starting with "From Here to L.A." and concluding with "1000 Times a Day," an especially unconvincing tune that comes to an embarrassingly amateurish end, riddled with weak rhyme and burdened by tween sentimentality. Others, such as the ballad-y "Is It My Fault" and "I Don't Know How To Say This," an obvious Smashing Pumpkins homage, show potential but feel hastily assembled and strained, the group nearing creative bankruptcy in those final moments.The finishing touch and the worst part of the whole collection, though, is the wholly unnecessary third act, a "soundtrack" to a cliché-filled sonic film about an unwanted child, his bruised psyche, angst-filled parents, and some other stuff that proves as interesting and original as the average slice of unbuttered toast. A note on the CD's sleeve implores us to listen to "The Path" with headphones, but the fact is that it's best to let the band limp away with its dignity intact and not listen at all.The Mother, The Mechanic, and The Pathis a tragically flawed album that could have stood as a true classic had its creators known when to leave well enough alone.--Jedd Beaudoin