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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This Unbalanced..., June 1, 2006
I guess Lagwagon change their style after every other album or so. The musicianship is always expert, and Joey's lyrics are among the best out there, but _Hoss_, _Let's Talk About Feelings_, and _Blaze_ are albums that do not sound like their predecessors (this makes it fairly easy to guess which albums the songs on _Let's Talk About Leftovers_ belong to).
Well, now they've made a small retreat from _Blaze_ and have moved to a more straightforward song structure: of any Lagwagon album, the songs on _Resolve_ have the fewest parts and stops (Lagwagon's signature style), and the guitar solos aren't nearly as screaming as those on _Blaze_ or _Trashed_. The classic punk-gallop (eighth notes except on the second and fourth beat) makes an appearance in the opening track, in the last (listed) song, and in many of the songs between them ("Creepy" and "Virus" sound like grunge songs translated into basic punk).
This may sound negative, but the album's simplicity unifies the songs - the songs are straightforward because they serve the interests of the lyrics. And there are great moments in these songs, moments which fit the mood of the album: for instance, the dissonant resolution to the title track, or when "Infectious" opens in the key of D Major but moves to the relative minor for the verse. Even the song least characteristic of Lagwagon - "Automatic," whose vocal melody and phrasing are _very_ similar to Nirvana's "Polly" - has a moment reminiscent of "Defeat You" or of the opening to "Twenty-Seven".
Joey returns to familiar themes and images: burned bridges, inadequacy, dependency, alienation, etc. And because of the death of Derrick Plourde, Joey has written some very sharp lyrics. "Sad Astronaut" and "Infectious" are intense and some of the saddest stuff from Joey. The album isn't hopeful until the end with "Days of New" - and even then, the last few lines are bittersweet.
With its dark lyrics and fast, stripped-down music, _Resolve_ sounds like Lagwagon doing a Bad Astronaut album. That's not a bad thing, but this album offers none of the ornaments or humor of other Lagwagon albums.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
much better than the last.., November 30, 2005
Lagwagon's last record sorta left me wondering if i liked them anymore. It just did nothing for me. Then the next thing i know, i'm buying this yesterday. I'm glad i did that! This record is great. There is an immediacy to it. While this record actually has no real standout "singles" the songs are direct and have something that has maybe been missing. The tribute to the life of Derrick Plourde gave this band a new life of its own. This time thier style has abandoned that "Fat" sound which i think is good and venturing new/old school territory without totally abandoning thier identity or forgetting who they are. This band appeared to be on the brink of a breakup with side projects and less cohesive elements/ideas. I'm a big fan of Double Plaidnum which featured Ken Stringfellow from my favorite band, the Posies and that record had this same feeling. I'm not giving 5 stars cause honestly, the lyrics are subpar to me. "Drugs aren't only for dessert, do your homework first". Momements like that make me cringe a little. Not all that bad but Plaidnum really had some great lyrics.. and that set the standard for me. "Feelings" was great too. Also, i have to mention that the vocal part to Automatic reminds me of Nirvana's Polly and the guitar part sounds like the theme to Magnum P.I. haha... The production is better this time around and yet this record offers both the elements of piss and vinegar that maybe were lacking just a little since Plaidnum.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible..., November 3, 2005
As expected Lagwagon's 7th studio album is amazing. Musically its a bit different than their previous body of work, but still has alot of the same quality's(melody, blazing solo's, intense musical bridges)that Lagwagon have become known for through their 15 year career. Inspired by tragic loss, and put together in just a short span of time, this record is extremely intense. Lyrically Joey Cape is at the top of his game (vastly underappreciated Song writer/lyricist in my personal opinion.) He paints a vividly painful picture throughout many of the albums 12 tracks (Virus, Contortionist, and Sad Astronaut are examples of this.) Possibly my favorite Lagwagon album yet.
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by Lagwagon 
