Review Summary: Nolan's first solo album is a mixed bag.... you never know what you're going to get.
Teenage angst. Piano-driven melodies. A first solo effort. This has been the musical career path of John Nolan, best known for his prominent role in the original Taking Back Sunday before going on to start the much more piano-driven and experimental Straylight Run. Ever since his departure from TBS, it has been obvious that Nolan wishes to stray as far from the sound of the band that originally gave him popularity as he can. Now, Nolan has gone in a completely different direction again with his first solo album
Height: a mixed bag of music in terms of both style and effectiveness.
By listening to the album just once, it is easy to see that Nolan does not want his solo work to be labeled under any certain genre. The album contains good doses of indie pop with catchy choruses, an unnecessary amount of synthesizer and electronic drumbeats, beautiful piano work, and ever-changing vocal styles, all leading to the mixed bag mentioned before. The good news is that some of this variety leads to a few noteworthy songs. “Til It’s Done To Death” starts the album off on the right track with a catchy, indie pop kind of feel and also showcases the best use of percussion on the album. In the tracks “It Takes A Long Time” and “I Won’t Ever Be There”, Nolan is able to produce a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere with excellent use of piano, keys, and his vocals. Decisive tempo changes are also used very well in each of these tracks. Hands down, the best song on Height is “Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand”. Nolan is at his best when he lets either piano or keys drive the song, and while the feel of this track is very subdued, it also has a sense of beauty that can be linked to Nolan’s excellent vocals over the drive of the piano. This highpoint of the album marks Nolan’s ability to craft an incredibly moving and uplifting song by keeping it simple, a talent he unfortunately does not utilize again the rest of the album.
With every peak of greatness on
Height, there seems to be a valley that keeps it down. While Nolan is a very talented vocalist, he unexplainably changes the entire tone of his voice on a couple songs. In “Screaming Into The Wind”, the track starts off well with an original intro that can only be described as heavy breathing over a nice bass line. As soon as Nolan’s vocals come in however, the song is ruined. The unbearable twang of his voice turns the sensual atmosphere of the intro into a musky stench of flaccidity. Although the rest of the album is certainly not this bad, there is often nothing noticeable that makes you eager for a second listen. “Here I Am” is certainly not a poor song, but it drags on for far too long with a lackluster guitar solo that could have been dropped altogether. “Keep Calm And Carry On” is an entire track that could have been dropped from the album with stupid sound effects that carry through the whole song and with bass being the only real instrument, it leaves one to wonder if Nolan simply has too many toys to play with and forgot at points of creating the album how to make real music.
A lack of consistency and continuity are really what keep
Height from being a good album. In some cases, Nolan is able to utilize electric drumbeats and synthesizer well, but often they carry too much weight and overtake the song. The variety of vocal styles Nolan uses also ruins the cohesion of the album, leaving it without any direction. Although some of the songs are very good, the rest of the album leaves one begging for something better. An ideal solo album for Nolan would be one that is completely unplugged, one that would showcase the ability he has to make beautiful music without the addition of everything that is artificial in
Height. Better luck next time John.
Recommended Tracks: Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand, Til It's Done To Death, I Won't Ever Be There
Not Recommended Tracks: Screaming Into The Wind, Keep Calm And Carry On
