So here's the thing, (we started off frien-... just kidding) ever since I was a little girl, I've had a 'thing' for boy bands, be it N-sync (I still adored JT with his blonde spiky highlights), Blazin Squad (who remembers Crossroads?! What an absolute banger) or nowadays One Direction/The Vamps. But when my brother's friend, in the midst of my The Wanted obsession, said he thought I would have "liked that new 'Lawson' band," I obviously had to have a listen.
Comprised of drummer, Adam Pitts, bass guitarist/backing vocalist, Ryan Fletcher, lead guitarist/backing vocalist, Joel Peat and Liverpudlian front man, Andy Brown. Lawson, (formerly known as 'The Groves') label their music as guitar-led, meaningful pop/rock. Die-hard Lawson followers (unashamedly, such as myself) know that their debut album ('Chapman Square') and this second album are named after the place that the band met, so like the Biebs with 'My Worlds, My Worlds 1.0, " " 2.0 etc etc, the boys kept the theme of the bands birthplace to entitle this follow up album.
Now on first impressions, the addition of only 6 new tracks alongside the 12 familiar tracks from their debut album, makes it seem as if this album is just a quick fix to cure the fans' desperate want for new music. But how very wrong you people would be, the first CD is accompanied by a second CD which holds 7 acoustic tracks and the 'Everywhere We Go'- The Chapman Square Tour Film. HOORAH! Now kicking off the new tracks, the first two, Brokenhearted and Juliet are probably now well-known even by those of you don't follow Lawson religiously. Brokenhearted sees a more 'RnB' (ew that was horrible even to type, I feel like a 50 year old music critic) side of Lawson courtesy of the steady drumbeat and seemingly more resilient lyrics which makes a refreshing change from the trademark, heartfelt and raw, Lawson sound that we are used to. The most obvious change from their normal sound is of course, the addition of rapper B.o.B who has featured on tracks such as Jessie J's 'Price Tag' and of course on the massive track 'Airplanes' with Paramore's very own Hayley Williams. He definitely gives this track an added dimension and also helps to attract avid listeners of rap artists such as B.o.B, to give Lawson's tracks a little listen maybe? As I mentioned in my 'Help A Capital Child's Concert review, Juliet definitely has a Police-esque sound which, like Brokenhearted, gives this album a new sound, whilst keeping the catchy guitar melodies and familiar drum beats that trademark this 4-piece their own unique sound.
Love Locked Out, is my personal favourite of the 4 new tracks that have yet to be properly released (i.e: given a music video). Reverting back to my younger days, I was brought up surrounded by soul/jazz artists such as Luther Vandross, George Benson, Angie Stone to name but a few, so I have always been fond of that genre of music. So as soon as I heard the first 17 seconds of LLO (Love Locked Out for those of you aren't very quick off the mark with abbreviations), I just knew that it was gonna be a firm favourite of mine, with its soulful/jazzy sound (how many times do I want to pair soul and jazz together in this review?!) that never fails to make me move my hips and pretend that I look cool whilst trying to successfully pull off a body ripple... This will definitely continue to be on repeat until the next album is released.
Now here comes the STRANGEST musical comparison that you will probably ever see. To me, the higher pitched guitar chords in 'Are You Ready?' really reminds me of Girls Aloud's 'Untouchable' (told you it was strange) Is it just me?! Once you read this review go and listen to 'Are You Ready?' and then 'Untouchable' and reassure me that I'm not the only one. Please. AYR is one of those songs that at first listen, is a bit mediocre, but the more I listen to it, the more fond of it I become. The chorus is so catchy and I can often be heard attempting, but failing miserably to hit those high notes on "I can't sleep when you're gone" that Andy Brown hits annoyingly, so god damn effortlessly! They say good things come in two right? Well here's another obscure comparison of mine. Anyone remember Steps? Tragedy, Better The Devil You Know? I hear your exclamations of "Ah yes!" and I can see you retrieving the Tragedy head movements from the dusty corners of your mind. Well, does anyone remember their song 'It's The Way You Make Me Feel'? They all wore extravagant ball gowns and suits in the video and of course there was a little ballroom dance number (what would a Steps video be without a classic dance number?) The very start of that song and of 'Back To Life' are really reminiscent of each other to me?! I think I may be the only person in the world who can see similarities in those to songs.. But I digress! The final song on CD 1 is abstractly named 'Parachute'. This song is all about falling in love with someone as shown by the lyrics "If I had a parachute, I wouldn't fall so hard like I did for you," pretty self explanatory right? This song I'm hoping will grow on me as 'Are You Ready?' did as it is my least favourite song on the album. It just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the tracks on the album. Personally the lyrics seem a bit too "typical boy band" and one of the many reasons I like Lawson are because of their more mature and relatable lyrics, which make listening to 'boybands' a lot less shameful for us females, and in my eyes, a lot more relatable and acceptable to men, as they can listen to their music without fear of being called *insert generic male insult here*.
However please don't hate me Lawson fans, I absolutely adore the acoustic tracks! I think that you can really tell whether an artist is good or not, by their acoustic tracks/performances. Acoustic performances really showcase the artist's voice(s) and you get a really raw sound as there is no digital production behind it or layers of harmonies or vocals. It's just the artist(s) and their instruments. My favourite 3 acoustic tracks are 'Taking Over Me', 'Brokenhearted' and 'Juliet'. 'Taking Over Me' is my favourite Lawson song so I feel that I am being slightly biased as I think that I would love any version of that song. The 'Brokenhearted' acoustic is just such a 'feel-good' (how cliche) track, you can tell that they're having a good time performing it and that definitely comes through when you listen to it. 'Juliet' is a very upbeat and hard-hitting track so it is definitely a welcomed contrast to see the boys strip the song back and slow the tempo down a bit, to show both the song, and the band's versatility.
Rating: 5/5
P.S: Here's links to my obscure comparison songs..
Girls Aloud- Untouchable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGkpoGZOzpo
Steps- It's The Way You Make Me Feel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9L-0x92vXk
(I do not own the right to those songs, all rights are those of the artists.)
