As much as I like writing about albums that I like, sometimes it’s just more fun to analyze why an album just misses the mark. That’s the premise behind today’s selection.
From minute one The Last Goodnight and their debut album scream “forgettable”. I have no problem with a pop-rock outfit who records their first record in the hopes of getting some radio spins. But when such a band presents no personality and simply aims to ape another successful, albeit shrug-worthy group (in this case, The Last Goodnight’s muse seems to be Maroon 5), then the most likely result is a bland, predictable effort lacking in vibrance. In that regard, Poison Kiss excels. Certain moments have some glimmer to them, mainly the mild single “Pictures of You” and the bonus track “When It All Comes Down”. These moments show off the one consistent skill The Last Goodnight posess; a knack for socially relevant, but still catchy and poetic songwriting. Everything else the band does either completely misses its intended target or just gets bogged down in the record-selling machine to make any impact. Frontman Leif Christensen probably has a fairly impressive set of vocals, and for a few fleeting moments in “Return to Me” they poke out of their hole, but for the rest of the album, Christensen is tied up in glossy production and vague, unimpressive arrangements from the rest of the band.
This doesn’t mean The Last Goodnight for cursed to one-hit-wonderland. For all I know they could be working on an epic record right now that will leave people forgetting about this dud of a first album. But based on this lone impression, it’s hard to imagine The Last Goodnight being anything more than a footnote on the Billboard charts.
The Last Goodnight – Pictures of You [iTunes] (YSI)
==TJ==
Filed under: Album A Day Tagged: | Album A Day, The Last Goodnight
