Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Album Review: ‘Oh, What a Life’

American Authors burst onto the scene with their infectiously upbeat and happy song, “Best Day of My Life.” “Oh What a Life”is their full-length follow-up. It’s not a bad album. It’s full of songs similar to the great “Best Day of My Life,” as well as some that also show a new side to the band. While they do explore a new sound, it does not represent anything wholly original in the music world. So much of the album could easily be confused for Imagine Dragons or the Lumineers: The band plays the same modern, folk-inspired music that has become incredibly popular recently. This is the album’s Achilles heel —and probably the band’s, too —American Authors far too often sounds like nothing more than a cover band, albeit a quite talented one.

The album is dominated by upbeat, fun songs in the vein of “Best Day of My Life.” For American Authors, things are always looking up. The first song of the album, “Believer,” an optimistic song that claims “things are gonna get better,” sounds awfully familiar to “Best Day of My Life.” On, “Trouble,” which includes the lyrics “I knew she was trouble from the first kiss,” appears to be the American Author’s version of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble.” Again none of these songs is offensive to the ears, each just sounds like the same folk-inspired, backup vocal heavy and percussion-driven sounds we are already used to hearing in today’s alternative music.

The American Authors’biggest strength is the infectiousness of their music, most of which is hard to listen to without smiling and feeling good. “Luck” is a great example of this. Driven by its strong drum beat and full of rousing lyrics, the song inspires. Most importantly, “Luck” feels like the most original song on the album. It’s one of the few moments where the American Authors appear to have found their own space in the music industry.

The second half of the album moves into unexpected, but not uncharted territory. It’s a mix of modern rock and Irish punk rock. Songs like “Home” and “Oh, What a Life” flow between soft, quiet parts with folk instruments to raucous electric guitar and aggressive drum sections. It feels like American Authors’attempt to push their music to new places, but fall flat since it sounds more like an identity crisis than an expansion of their musical identity.

The American Authors remind me of Daniel Powter. You probably don’t recognize the name because his only popular song was “Bad Day,” but you will inevitably recognize that song —it was everywhere in the mid-2000s. Unfortunately, Powter failed to have any further commercial success. The American Authors have the potential to be a one-hit wonder like Powter. “Best Day of My Life” is a wonderful, catchy song, but the album remains a pretty boring, copy-cat collection of music. In the world of alternative music that values originality, American Authors seem to simply lack the staying power to become more than a passing fad.

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