Something Corporate - North
Something Corporate have simply evolved as songwriters. There is an improvement musically and the results of this maturity are displayed on North
The majority of us reach this moment sometime in our lives. The moment where we head out on our own to conquer the world, taking with us everything we learned along the way, and leaving behind everything we love; our family, our friends, our home. It’s a point in our lives where “constants aren’t so constant any more.” You reach this level and apprehend you’re detached from where it all got underway. The people and the surroundings have entirely changed and in time so do you. Some people thrive in this moment; some people scurry back home, some people simply write a record about it. For the Southern Cal piano powered rock quintet known as Something Corporate, their latest album, North is all about this moment.
Their first major label release, Leaving Through the Window was full of your typical all too familiar album themes centered around young love and the pain that adolescence causes. While the album subject matter was ordinary, the music was not. The band leaves behind their punk rock princesses and dreadful high school days to a much serious and sinister space on North.
Something Corporate ditches the boy loves girl but loses the girl premise and fashions an album with the simple focus of being away. The lyrics of singer/songwriter/piano man Andrew McMahon are cleverly constructed around the essence of being absent from the people and settings in your life; how surviving that distance alters you as a person. The music in general is still driven by pianos and the extensive guitar clatter that helped Something Corporate separate themselves from the norm of their label peers.
The maturities of the band lyrically and musically results in an album that is far more lucid and articulate than their previous releases. With lyrics like, "It’s a good year for a murder…" unlocking the song "Me and the Moon"; the darker lyrical growth is obvious and apparent. The album has a strong focus shaped around the earnest lyrics and sincere yet pungent and highly seasoned music that is clear throughout the album.
In favor of achieving more essence and spirit on North, the band shies away from the high studio production sounds that were frequently heard on their previous album. By expanding the music to sound more affluent, this album is more about the music than the over production that many bands fall prey to.
And it isn’t just about darker moods; it’s about the growth of a band.
Something Corporate have simply evolved and matured as songwriters. There is an improvement musically and the results of this maturity and ripeness are best displayed on North, a collection that paints and portrays everyday life around an album of beautifully captivating music.
(Geffen Records)