By: Rinjo Njori

From the start, Now or Heaven, makes an effort, conscious or unconscious, to distance itself from I Can't Go On I'll Go On, their hook filled debut. They felt like a band on the rise and Ross Flournoy's vocals and keyboards have literally become the sound of The Broken West. Effectively, he guides the sound of the band away from power pop simplicity and toward mood-filled songscapes.

"Gwen, Now and Then" and "Ambuscade" deftly blend robotic drums with Flournoy's vocals and minimal guitar. Verging into the more coherent moments of Radiohead or stripped down X&Y-era Coldplay, Flournoy's vocals are distinctive enough to avoid a comparison to Thom Yorke or Chris Martin but the songs feel like those established acts' more accessible moments. "Gwen, Now and Then" creeps close to Radiohead's simple era. "Ambuscade", an obscure crossword reference for the word "ambush" anchors the album but hints at Coldplay's rolling anthems. "Auctioneer" and "Perfect Games" return to the more familiar sound of The Broken West's debut. The crisp piano on "Auctioneer" makes the song both fun and dramatic. "Perfect Games" driving backbeat opens the song but quickly fades to the back and gives the album a shot in the arm. "House of Lies" surprisingly reaches back to the early 80s Power Pop, capturing the more restrained moments of Dwight Twilley and Shoes. The paranoid themes work well for the album, but at moments they are thoroughly boring. "Elm City" aims for brooding and intense but unlike "Ambuscade," the song feels hollow and soulless. The vocals aim for harmony on the verse, but end up muddled. Similarly the chorus suffers as well. Luckily the missteps are few and far between.

The Broken West's debut was unfairly pegged with associations to Wilco and Son Volt; they displayed a more pop oriented sound than those Americana stalwarts. In the end, that probably hurt them. Now or Heaven also begs comparison to more established acts. This time those comparisons are a little more obvious. Luckily, these comparison's should benefit The Broken West.

Labels: The Broken West