Hawk Nelson – Live Life Loud
Hawk Nelson – Live Life Loud – BEC Recordings – Released 9/22/09 – Reviewed By Tyler Hess
For a band that has only been in the spotlight for about five years, it sure seems that I have had a long history with Hawk Nelson. Not only were they one of the early bands that got me into pop punk a few years ago, but they were also the first band that I ever tried to review, not to mention the band that I listened to most when i was too broke at bible college to buy a whole lot of music. I actually went about 9 months where the only two albums that I bought with my own hard earned money were their first two CD’s. To this day, “Letters to the President” cannot be played without nostalgia dripping from my pores and “Smile, It’s the End of the World” was drenched in potential. Last year, “Hawk Nelson…Is My Friend” was released to a golf clap of applause. That is, to say, it was kind of all over the place and I wasn’t sure where they were going with their work. When I first received “Live Live Loud” for review, I was clutching to the fence upon which I was posted, not sure if I was safe to jump on either side with all integrity in tact. After a dozen or so listens, I finally let my hands unclench and land safely in the “fun zone”. There will always be an angry mob of critics that can only listen to stuff with a lot of indie cred (because only Radiohead, Nirvana and The Smiths are allowed to be on their favorite bands list), but some of us like to have a good time too. Shoot, I’m 29, what am I going to do with indie cred anyway?
“Life Life Loud” starts off with the title track, introduced by cheerleaders telling me something about how I should throw my hands up, you know, because that is what you do and stuff when a band rocks the house. Nevertheless, when I get past the “oh no is this made for fourteen year old girls?” question marks, I realize that they have brought things back to basic, because this is the year of going back to one’s roots. Life Life Loud has a splattering of pop punk beginnings that have segued mostly into pop rock over the years, with the ever so present plethora of ballads. There are edgier songs like “Never Enough” and “The Job”, ridiculous tracks like “Ode To Lord Stanley” regarding a love affair with the NHL’s Calgary Flames and the more inspirational tracks like “The Meaning of Life” and the epic hymn “Tis So Sweet”. When it comes down to it, Hawk Nelson has produced a very smooth album. Where “Is My Friend” felt a bit bumpy over the ride, Live Life Loud is a strong coaster that should have you singing along in no time.
Grade: B
Tracklisting:
1. Live Life Loud
2. Never Enough
3. Eggshells
4. The Meaning of Life
5. Alive
6. Ode To Lord Stanley
7. Long Ago
8. The Job
9. Shaken
10. Lest We Forget
11. Tis’ So Sweet
12. The Final Toast
they’re a bec band now?
September 15, 2009 at 11:41 am
they have been for some time…i think they’re kind of on both bec and t&n, not completely sure what the decision was there
September 15, 2009 at 11:44 am
was the last one on bec?
September 15, 2009 at 12:52 pm
a quick amazon search indicates that they were T&N on smile and BEC on friend…so the answer to your question is “yes”.
September 15, 2009 at 12:55 pm
i’m surprised you didn’t give this an “A.” haha
September 15, 2009 at 3:03 pm
it wasn’t as far off as you’d think…it was close to consideration, just not quite epic enough for such a designation
September 15, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I picked it up for 3.99 when Amazon was running a special. I have not devoted a lot of time to it, but I have listened to it in its entirety. I think its pretty blah. I like the hymn but not much else stood out.
September 25, 2009 at 10:53 am
you liked eleventyseven a lot and you don’t like hawk? hmmmmmmm. your opinion is just wrong this time :) haha give it a bit more of a chance…it took me a few spins to get into it
September 25, 2009 at 11:00 am
It was the wit I liked from Eleventyseven. I will give it some more time though. I do enjoy the cover art.
September 25, 2009 at 11:02 am
as relient k would say…wit’s all been done before :)
September 25, 2009 at 11:31 am
WOW hits 2010 has “The Meaning Of Life” from this album on check it out at http://www.hearitfirst.com/wow/
October 29, 2009 at 4:46 am
while some of my favorite SONGS are from this album, overall, i would say this is probably my least favorite album so far. i dont like ode to lord stanley or tis so sweet or some of the slow songs. =|
April 6, 2010 at 5:07 pm