Stories (Addison Road album)
Stories is the second album from Christian rock band Addison Road. It was released on June 22, 2010, under INO Records. A music video for "This Little Light of Mine" was released by Addison Road on GodTube.com (formerly tangle.com). The album received positive reception and commercial success. Background. The album was released on June 22, 2010, by INO Records, and it was produced by Christopher Stevens. This was the second and last studio album for Addison Road. Critical reception. "Stories" garnered generally positive reception from music critics. At "CCM Magazine", Matt Conner gave it four stars  calling it a "confident, moving mix". Sarah Fine of New Release Tuesday rated it four stars noting that this is the "FARTHEST thing from a slump". At Indie Vision Music, Steve gave it four stars affirming the album to be "excellent". Samantha Schaumberg of Jesus Freak Hideout gave it four stars feeling that the band "brings out a well-rounded sophomore release, with a much more distinguished, original sound." At The Christian Manifesto, Lydia Akinola gave it four and a fourth of a star stating that the band "has done itself proud." Jared Johnson of Allmusic gave it four-and -a-half stars commenting on how "the upbeat collection connects with sparkling hooks" are "appealing to both faith-based and secular listeners on an emotional level." At Christian Music Review, Kevin Davis gave it a 97-percent proclaiming this to be an "excellent album" containing many "musical hooks" and "Jenny's vulnerable and sincere vocals and the extremely poignant lyrics." Simon Eden of Cross Rhythms gave it a perfect ten writing that it is "a finely crafted album that builds on the band's previous self-titled album." However, Andrew Greer of "Christianity Today" gave it three stars criticizing that  the lyrics are middle-of-the-road material, however believing that the band "possesses enough musical range, including Jenny Simmons' formidable vocals, to distinguish themselves from the rest of the pop/rock crowd." At Christian Broadcasting Network, Jennifer E. Jones gave it three out of five noting that "This album isn’t ground-breaking, but for what it's worth, you'll find a song or two that will make you smile." Nathaniel Schexnayder gave it three stars writing that it was and improvement over their first offering calling it "more seasoned" but believing that it is easy to "notice  the group’s contemporary slide, and write off the album as an unoriginal, unchallenging pop project." In addition, Schexnayder stating that "In truth though, "Stories" is a release that is easy to listen to and just a little bit too easy to forget", and this is why the album was "for those who are seeking a fun, but simple, encouraging, pop/rock album." Commercial performance. For the "Billboard" charting week of July 10, 2010, "Stories" was the No. 4 most sold album on the breaking-and-entry chart the Heatseekers Albums chart, and it was the No. 13 most sold  on the Christian Albums chart for the Christian market.