2008 Woodie Awards
CD Review: Dreaming Out Loud nothing but a snore
Erin Shea
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Entertainment
01/31/08 - Just because a band has a monster hit, doesn't mean it has the album to back the hit up, as OneRepublic proves on its debut album, Dreaming Out Loud.
Dreaming Out Loud will certainly be appreciated by pop fans looking for an album of melodic, simple tunes or those longing for the return of the boy bands of the '90's.
While OneRepublic's lyrics definitely eclipse those written for most boy bands, the pedantic arrangements of most of the songs drag them down to that harmless, safe level of pop exploited by bands such as NSync or Backstreet Boys- even if OneRepublic's desire is to be more like Snow Patrol or U2.
The songs are all catchy enough. They are all pleasant pop songs. But unfortunately, that's all they are.
All the songs on the album are well-crafted, thanks to frontman Ryan Tedder's pedigree as a producer. However, they tend to blend together, and it's difficult to tell one from the other, which means that by the middle of the album Dreaming Out Loud starts to become a rather tedious listen.
Melodically speaking, Dreaming Out Loud doesn't differ much from song to song. Each song has what the band means to be a rousing chorus- but since they don't spend enough time building tension, the bright choruses aren't quite as cathartic as it seems they were meant to be.
The highlight of the album is the band's current single "Apologize." Both versions of the song appear on Dreaming Out Loud, and while they are fairly similar, the remix is by far the more intriguing of the two.
The slight echo that reverberates behind Tedder's vocals in the remix gives them more power and lends the song more of an emotional pull and the driving beat that dominates the song brings out the intensity of the lyrics.
It is that very song, however, that may have lead to the overwhelming mediocrity of Dreaming Out Loud. There has been much speculation that the album was rushed in order to capitalize on the success of "Apologize," a theory that seems more likely upon listening to the album.
There is the occasional spark of originality on the album, most notably on the musically and thematically darker "Tyrant," a song that, despite Tedder's flat delivery in parts, succeeds in standing out in the crowd of traditional pop songs.
The album opener, "Say (All I Need)" also seems promising at first with its electronica-influenced beginning, but quickly settles into the smooth feel of a radio-friendly pop ballad.
These moments suggest that had the band been given more time this would not have been the album that would have been released.
The sad part is that this is the album OneRepublic released. It's an album that cultivates the image of a band of the moment, one that will enjoy its fifteen minutes before fading off into obscurity.
Dreaming Out Loud will certainly be appreciated by pop fans looking for an album of melodic, simple tunes or those longing for the return of the boy bands of the '90's.
While OneRepublic's lyrics definitely eclipse those written for most boy bands, the pedantic arrangements of most of the songs drag them down to that harmless, safe level of pop exploited by bands such as NSync or Backstreet Boys- even if OneRepublic's desire is to be more like Snow Patrol or U2.
The songs are all catchy enough. They are all pleasant pop songs. But unfortunately, that's all they are.
All the songs on the album are well-crafted, thanks to frontman Ryan Tedder's pedigree as a producer. However, they tend to blend together, and it's difficult to tell one from the other, which means that by the middle of the album Dreaming Out Loud starts to become a rather tedious listen.
Melodically speaking, Dreaming Out Loud doesn't differ much from song to song. Each song has what the band means to be a rousing chorus- but since they don't spend enough time building tension, the bright choruses aren't quite as cathartic as it seems they were meant to be.
The highlight of the album is the band's current single "Apologize." Both versions of the song appear on Dreaming Out Loud, and while they are fairly similar, the remix is by far the more intriguing of the two.
The slight echo that reverberates behind Tedder's vocals in the remix gives them more power and lends the song more of an emotional pull and the driving beat that dominates the song brings out the intensity of the lyrics.
It is that very song, however, that may have lead to the overwhelming mediocrity of Dreaming Out Loud. There has been much speculation that the album was rushed in order to capitalize on the success of "Apologize," a theory that seems more likely upon listening to the album.
There is the occasional spark of originality on the album, most notably on the musically and thematically darker "Tyrant," a song that, despite Tedder's flat delivery in parts, succeeds in standing out in the crowd of traditional pop songs.
The album opener, "Say (All I Need)" also seems promising at first with its electronica-influenced beginning, but quickly settles into the smooth feel of a radio-friendly pop ballad.
These moments suggest that had the band been given more time this would not have been the album that would have been released.
The sad part is that this is the album OneRepublic released. It's an album that cultivates the image of a band of the moment, one that will enjoy its fifteen minutes before fading off into obscurity.