DISCLosure: Lifehouse • Murphy's Law

Disclosure
CD Reviews Of A National Scale

Lifehouse
No Name Face

by Lisa Hummel
No Name Face, the debut album from the L.A.-based Lifehouse, is a 12-track disc that holds tight to the theory of simplicity. Mixed by industry veteran Brendan O’Brien (U2, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots) and written by Lifehouse frontman Jason Wade, No Name Face makes no pretense of reinventing the wheel or of becoming the next big thing. From its first track (and the album’s first single), “Hanging By A Moment” to the last, “Everything,” the disc is a simplistic, yet impressively solid effort, boasting a hybrid of acoustic and hitting guitars, emotive vocals, and lyrics that deny the age of their author. At 20 years old, Wade writes of the standard love-loss experience, but he also pens more introspective tracks like “Simon” and “Quasimodo.”

With a voice that is drawing comparisons to Creed’s Scott Stapp or Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, each track on No Name Face highlights the vocal tricks of Wade, allowing his soothing — though ably raucous when appropriate — sound to stand out in the forefront while the music — guitar, bass, and drums — lingers in the background. That recipe also results in some harmonious, easily sing-along-able hooks that should translate well to radio.

With “Hanging By A Moment” currently climbing the modern rock charts, there is no evidence that the success to be reached by Lifehouse with their debut album will be their last. In fact, while it is a fine single, “Hanging By A Moment” may not prove to be the band’s best offering, even on this disc. That title is perhaps best reserved for “Trying.” Taking the listener along on their seeming search for answers of all kinds — both personally and emotionally — Lifehouse has a winner in the journey that is No Name Face. (Dreamworks)

Murphy’s Law
The Best of Times/Good for Now

by Jeff Lockwood
Back in the late 1980s Murphy’s Law was bringing their New York City-style of ska/thrash/punk/skate rock to the masses everywhere. As opening band for the Beastie Boys/Public Enemy tour in 1986, they had the crowd spinning in a moshing frenzy long before the MTV generation adopted it as commonplace. Into the early ’90s, Murphy’s Law continued to be popular among skateboarders, metalheads and similar cliques, yet they seemed to fade into obscurity after the 1991 release of The Best of Times. They re-surfaced in 1995 with the Good for Now EP and then dropped off the face of the earth again.

With some live shows outside of NYC, Murphy’s Law came back again in 1999 and released a new CD in 2000 — The Best of Times/Good for Now. Only there is nothing new on this CD. As you may have figured out from the title, this CD is just a re-packaging of 1991’s The Best of Times and 1995’s Good for Now. I can only speculate as to why these albums were packaged this way, but whatever the case … if you have never heard of Murphy’s Law, have lost the original releases, or you’re even slightly into The Mighty Mighty BossTones or similar artists, this might be a good disc to own.

Both The Best of Times and Good for Now offer up what Murphy’s Law is best at: fun, (“Ebony and Ivory” — yes, THAT Ebony and Ivory. This one done with Angelo Moore of Fishbone); beer (“Beer Bath”); weed (“Big Spliff”); and other deep, meaningful song topics (“Crucial Bar-B-Q”). Backed by the horn section of Fishbone on the Ska-like fun of “Tight” to the blazing punk fury of “Stay Gold”, Murphy’s Law twists and turns in a rage that is sometimes serious and mostly fun, but this CD would have been much cooler had this been a new release. (NG/Artemis Records)