Customer Reviews

Live Life Loud

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On the title track and opening song of their fourth album, Hawk Nelson urges its listeners to Live Life Loud. That sentiment, founding member Daniel Biro notes, is "as Hawk Nelson as Hawk Nelson can be." Live Life Loud. It's not just a matter of volume, mind you; it's a philosophy. Part of living at the extreme that title suggests is embracing all of life, accepting and even celebrating a little pain and darkness and finding a way to let it enrich life.

The album kicks off with Hawk Nelson's signature rock/punk sound with the title track, complete with cheerleaders. "Live Life Loud" reminds me of previous rock anthems "Friend Like That", "Bring `Em Out" and "California", but there is a maturity and musical diversity that really makes Live Life Loud the best overall album by Hawk Nelson from beginning to end in my opinion. "Never Enough" and "Eggshells" keep the rock going, and the guitar work has never sounded better. The band lists Jimmy Eat World as a musical influence and if you like that rock/punk sound combined with spiritual lyrics, this album is for you.

Catchy first single "Meaning of Life" continues the search for significance, harmoniously determining to "start today for a new beginning...find a way to make a change in all of us who need to find the meaning of life". The song reminds me of some of my favorite more pop-style songs recorded by Hawk Nelson, including "From Underneath", "Everything You Ever Wanted" and "One Little Miracle". The message of "Meaning of Life" is that we need to stand-out and not blend in with the crowd. We should be bold with our faith, Christians need to make a difference in our world. Next song "Alive" is about losing one's self and serving others. Another highlight for me is the song "Shaken" which includes some convicting lyrics "Open my eyes and help me see there's a world outside of me...Lord use me take me where You want me to go".

The second half of the album includes some more reflective songs including "Lest We Forget", a great cover of the hymn "Tis So Sweet" with guest vocals by Jenn Helvering (Sandi Patty's daughter), and the touching closing song "The Final Toast", written about Jason Dunn's grandfather. If you've liked previous albums by Hawk Nelson, you'll love Live Life Loud.

This is the best overall album by Hawk Nelson in my opinion. For me the standout songs are "Live Life Loud", "Never Enough", "Meaning of Life", "Alive", "Shaken" and "Tis So Sweet". If you like rock/punk like Jimmy Eat World, FM Static and Stellar Kart, then you can't go wrong with Live Life Loud by Hawk Nelson.

Hawk Nelson no doubt has talent, but since their debut they kind of stuck to the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. Fortunately, this time around they change things up a little. For example there is a guest vocal appearance of TobyMac on Eggshells, an interesting string arrangement to the contemplative rocker Meaning Of Life, a remake of an old hymn, and a funny song about Hawk Nelson's favorite hockey team winning the Stanley Cup. Throughout the entire album there is a near perfect balance of seriousness and fun. Although not a candidate for best album of the year, it is still a fun listen.

After a first listen I can definitely say I liked this album. There's a lot of variety across it, with slower songs and the bands more traditional pop/rock/punk sound. Not all of the songs are great, but they're all good. Some of them, like Ode to Lord Stanley are definitely intended to be funny and make sense for a band from Ontario. 'Tis So Sweet is a great praise song that shows they have stuck to their Christian ideals. Live Life Loud starts by making you unsure of what you're going to get and then really gets into the groove. Never Enough is a great song that is easy to listen to again.

If you haven't heard this band before their first two albums, Letters to the President and Smile, It's the End of the World are probably a better spot to start with, but this one is better than their third album, Hawk Nelson Is My Friend.

Hawk Nelson's 4th album finds them discussing many of the same themes from older albums: promoting individuality, dealing with broken relationships, striving for a better future, and worshipping God. The album's heavy on the "have fun" side of the emotional spectrum, but that's all right.

"Live Life Loud" has a great intro with cheerleaders yelling in the background. It moves between a bouncy punk style reminiscent of their old song "California", and a general shouty style to get a crowd fired up. It's just about being exuberant and embracing life, as the title implies. "Never Enough" has great guitars, but though it's talking about emotional difficulties, simplistic lyrics like "Some days I spend all day on the phone/ And other days I would just rather be alone" don't do a lot to forward the mood. "Eggshells" starts off sounding like "Wonderwall", but soon flows into an interesting musing on a fragile relationship, and it features tobyMac, though he's under-utilized.

My favorite song: "Tis So Sweet" features BAGPIPES. It's Hawk Nelson's reverent take on an old hymn with some of the most beautiful words ever:

"Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
O for grace to trust Him more"

"The Meaning of Life" has some lovely strings to it, and is a pleasant medium-tempo song. It's closer to a contemporary pop song than a punk song in its sound. "Alive" has a kind of haunted sound with it's echo-y vocals, but its message is very encouraging. "Ode to Lord Stanley" is a short little joking song about hockey, since the guys of Hawk Nelson hail from Ontario and hockey is a big deal up Canada way. "Ode" is full of harmony and its instrumentation is pretty much just a ukulele, and you can actually sing Jason Mraz' song "I'm Yours" to it. "Ode" reminded me of Relient K's penchant for jokey songs about skittles and shoes.

"Long Ago" is a smooth and deceptively quick-paced song about nostalgia and longing for another time when things were better. "The Job" has more of a punk sound than a lot of the other songs, and if I'm judging it correctly, it's one of those energetic yet determined breakup songs. "Shaken" is a sweet request to God to help the speaker make a difference in the world: "Lord, use me, take me where you want me to go". "Lest We Forget" is a pleasing, slow ballad-y song, and "The Final Toast" features pretty harmony and some acoustic guitar and violins and is about losing a friend, but remembering them after they've gone.

This isn't my favorite album by Hawk Nelson, abut it does contain some good tracks. It's an album where I pick my favorite songs to put on playlists for future reference, then leave the rest of the songs for the more dedicated fans.

This is probably my least favorite album buy Hawk Nelson. Rather disappointing...it doesn't really sound like Hawk Nelson, not as punkish. But the songs I do recommend on it are-Alive, Live Life Loud, The Job, Shaken, The Meaning of Life,Never Enough, and Eggshells. The rest I could do without.

It had been awhile since i had bought a hawk nelson cd since i only have the Smile its the end of the world Cd. This cd is very similar to that one which is very good, and it is a bit more mature. Some songs on the cd sound a bit untraditional, but in a good way. The cd is a bit hard to like at first as some songs do not seem to flow, or even sound good. But once you know the lyrics (which does not take long, they are catchy) you will be singing right along and loving them. Only one song is a but strange and out of plac eon the record, but its relatively short, and therefore does not take away from the album. If you are considering getting this, especially since the price is getting lower, go for it you will enjoy it!!!!

This was a great buy. Exactly as described, new in wrapper with a small crack in case.

Well, if you read my review of "Hawk Nelson is My Friend" you know that I wasn't a huge fan of that album. The melody was there, the great performance was there, but there was far less emotion and sheen than was presented in earlier HN material.

That being said, I didn't expect a ton out of "Live Life Loud." After looking at the cutesy album art, stereotypical album title and bloated 3D presentation, I was pretty much ready to give up on this one... But I shouldn't have! The HN boys have pulled through yet again, and created a truly fun and catchy work of art. The sound presented here is very similar to their last album, but there's much more thought and emotion put into the lyrics. In fact, a couple of tracks on this album took me back to "Letters to the President."

If you're a fan of HN that was disappointed by "Hawk Nelson is my Friend," do yourself a favor and give this a listen. I don't think you'll regret it!

Hawk Nelson is pop. There, I said it. They are also one of the biggest-selling Christian rock bands around. Their last CD debuted at #34 on the Billboard 200 and at #13 on the iTunes top hundred chart. Their latest release, Live Life Loud, threatens to do better.

Hawk Nelson's pop rock sound is infectious, especially if you spend time around teenagers who seem to be playing them all the time. The songs get caught in your head, and you find yourself humming the melody for hours. They are outstanding musicians, and their live shows are high-energy and entertaining.

So why is this the first Hawk Nelson CD I've ever owned? Two words -- shallow lyrics. Hawk Nelson's target audience goes for fairly mundane lyrics, things that don't require much thought. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I left that stage of my life behind years ago; I like a bit more content with my music now, thankyouverymuch. And while Live life Loud won't be confused with more cerebral rock releases, Hawk Nelson is finally getting out of the kiddie end of the pool and starting to venture out beyond the floating ropes into the deep end.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about songs like "Never Enough," dealing with typical inadequacies that everyone feels, but especially in trying to hear what God is saying to us. Then there's "Shaken," a song about understanding the problems beyond our own experiences, outside of our borders. It's something that Hawk Nelson is taking seriously; they've partnered with TOMS shoes. Not only does TOMS shoes give a pair of shoes away for every pair purchased, but right now when you buy the shoes through Hawk Nelson's store (or the link above), TOMS will donate eight dollars to the Hands & Feet Orphanage in Haiti. Hawk Nelson is serious about living their lives out loud.

That's not to say that the CD isn't fun -- long time fans of Hawk Nelson don't have to worry about that. The title song is a typical pop rock anthem that will have the teens bouncing in the crowd at every concert Hawk Nelson plays, and "Ode to Lord Stanley" is simply a fun tribute to the Calgary Flames hockey team. There's plenty for fans to enjoy here.

I have to say, though, that my favorite cut on the CD (and this is where you'll be able to tell I'm old) has to be "'Tis So Sweet." I'm a sucker for re-imagined hymns, and this one is particularly well done, especially the extended chorus -- "You're the shelter in the storm/You're the dearest friend I know/Oh light of the world, carry me home."

I guess the only thing I didn't really like was the 3D packaging. It was great up until my three-year-old took my 3D glasses and lost them. But while I had the glasses, I enjoyed this neat idea -- pictures of the band and even the song lyrics are all printed in the famous red and blue that works so well with the enclosed glasses.

GEEZ these guys write good melodies......
Fav song has to easily "lest we forget" great lyrics....!!!
must have for any Hawk fan.......!!!