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Lifehouse: No Name Face
It's too bad Lifehouse's greatest strength could easily be its biggest problem: lead singer Jason Wade's voice is a dead ringer for that of Creed frontman Scott Stapp. And where Creed represents the worst of alternative rock 10 years after its pop-culture coup, Lifehouse represents what will, with luck, be a new direction in the genre. Wade's voice just makes Lifehouse's task that much more difficult.
No Name Face is a strong debut reminiscent of Nirvana's Nevermind or Pearl Jam's Ten in its subversive commercial appeal. There are no pop hooks or pretty lyrics here; instead, like all good rock records, No Name Face demands repeated listens before it gets stuck in your head. Once it does, though, the melodies are inescapable.
The lyrics, similarly, are more intelligent than catchy. Wade fills his songs with honest emotion, telling tales of broken love and uncertainty in facing the world: "I haven't memorized all the cute things to say/But I'm working on it," he sings in "Trying," the centerpiece of the album. "I can't be this unsturdy/This cannot be happening" is how Wade expresses his restlessness and insecurity in "Somewhere in Between." Unlike Stapp, Wade knows when to let his words speak for themselves, never forcing his voice on them.
Ron Aniello's production is impressively inconspicuous, giving No Name Face a nicely organic feel: it sounds like a bunch of guys playing together in a room instead of a singer with an anonymous backing band. All of this imbues Lifehouse with a lot of potential, and with its first single "Hanging By A Moment" performing well on rock radio, the band seems like it's on the right track. The question is whether fickle listeners will have the patience to give Lifehouse the longevity it deserves. (Dreamworks)
—Dan Feder
All materials © 2000 The Yale Herald, Inc., and its staff.
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