Last year the Broken West released their debut CD, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On and it was met with positive reviews and much anticipation for their follow-up. The sound on the debut was refreshing and a bouncy toe tapping pop/rock album. Their jangly guitar sound reminds me of Teenage Fanclub, the Posies and a bit of Big Star. I had the pleasure of seeing the band tour this album when they opened for Fountains Of Wayne last summer in Minneapolis and I thought these two bands were a good match. They played one cover and it was, Mr. Soul from Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young), so you know how great the guitar sound is on that tune.
Unfortunately, the new album, Now Or Heaven has lost that bounce and chime and has produced a slicker, tighter and smoother lush alternative rock album that treads into Brit-pop territory and less California. That's not to say this is a bad album, it's a little disappointing, but I'm just saying the sound that drew me to them in the first place is lost amongst the drum machine beats and synths that have crept into their sound. It's still a good album and I need to give this more listens and I may appreciate their new sound more as time goes on, but it just doesn't immediately grab me like the song, Down In the Valley from the first album.
These songs grab me the most and it's no coincidence it's the most uptemple rockers. Judge for yourself.
BROKEN WEST- Gwen, Now And Then
BROKEN WEST- Auctioneer
BROKEN WEST- Perfect Games
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