Nevertheless is waking up to the occasion reather than "sleeping in"
Posted September 10, 2008
By Nathan,
Nevertheless’ debut album, Live like we are Alive, may be similar to Jimmy Eat World, Further Seems Forever, and Cartel in the musical aspects but very little is similar about Nevertheless and those bands. The indie rock band’s opening album showed maturity in all aspects of song structure but one part that stood out is the ability to reach across and relate their messages of faith and hope easily. That skill still sits with fans and those who are holding out on improvement the second time around. Let me tell you, In the Making of Nevertheless’s sophomore project, they have been making improvements.
The basic tunes and unchallenging riffs were fine in Live like we are Alive but there was a feeling that the music wasn’t fresh of cutting edge enough to stick with bands like Hawk Nelson and Relient K. But their first single shows that Nevertheless has not been wasting their time; the piano driven pop/rock anthem, “sleeping in”, and key track song for the album is smart, it flows well, and it has a very unsullied sound to it. “I needed this” and “cross my heart” seems directly influenced by Relient K, with Josh Pearson’s vocals sounding similar to that of Matthew Thiessen, and the tune is reminiscent to some of Relient K’s older up beat pop/rock/punk material. But “Cross my Heart’s” verse still sounds like the style of music we heard on the title track of their first CD, but the chorus is a more stable, flowing tune.
The pop song “it’s true” is only average, but “long shot” is energetic and a fun punk rock tune with some impressive guitars. Musical maturity is clear but the biggest change will probably catch fans is the fact that the ballads out number than rock songs. Not that it’s a pitfall but ballads are usually on the simple side, and but Nevertheless does a good job keeping them diverse. “I found my way back again” and “it’s no secret” are more acoustic guitar driven and they sound the roughest sounding the ballads. Although “Augustine” sounds a little too much like “topics” the piano based tracks are both emotionally inviting.
Nevertheless didn’t stray away from tough spiritual topics like adultery, being lukewarm and dancing on the edge of sin as Christians and although the first three songs have similar themes songwriting isn’t a negative issue on In the Making. “Sleeping in”, “cross my heart” and “it’s true” all admit failure in doing what Gods says but there is a determination in the first two mentioned songs to strive to be better and “it’s true” hints that we are the problem (We've made it hard to see /The light shining through/The things we do’). “When I’m alone” is about regretting a hard friendship and the regrets of wasting time (‘There's so much I should have said,/When time was wearing thin’) and the humorous “long shot” gives a biblical mind set to a girl guy relationship; a combination rarely seen these days. The brilliant song “topics” stands as the most impressive accomplishment off the album.
Nevertheless make it clear that they are not a cheesy indie rock band: ‘These aren't just songs to soothe breakup sores or to feed the fires of crushes; they are also songs to mend deeper wounds’. And they practice what they preach, as they have a good balance of Biblical truth that has relevance in today’s culture. Fewer ballads would have been appreciated and so would a few more pop rock tunes on In the Making along with some more cutting edge songs like “sleeping in”, but who can be truly disappointed with such a solid project?
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