Lithium Magazine

Warner Music Canada

By: Valerie Bennett

Canadian rockers The Reason are on back the radar with the release of their third full-length album, Fools, which hit record store shelves on August 24, 2010. The band has finally come into their own with their latest release. While their debut album Ravenna had a heavy, hardcore-driven sound, and their follow-up Things Couldn’t Be Better took a perky pop route, Fools demonstrates that The Reason have found their true voice. That’s not to say that they don’t incorporate the aforementioned sounds because they certainly integrate subtle traces of each; however, the band adopts more prominent rock elements to harness their particular sound.

It’s evident in Fools that the album has been strongly influenced by the band’s time on the road and the theme can be noted throughout the songs. A brief skim of the track titles (“Run”, “Where Do We Go From Here”, “The Longest Highway Home”) as well as the lyrics in each, reveal a life of touring and traveling coast to coast to perform.
The album begins with “Come & Go”, a song about the blur of all that comes and goes on the road while being separated from a steady life at home. With Adam White’s evocative vocals above mid tempo instrumentals, the introductory track stands as a thinking piece to get your mind in gear for what the rest of the album has in store. The following track “Where Do We Go From Here” paints a similar picture.

“The Ending Of Us All” carries a pop-esque feel, with White’s melodies layered over catchy guitar hooks and a repetitive drum sequence. Fans of their first album will be pleased with “My Love Is Gone” as they embrace their harder side once more. The track is made by White’s raspy and edgy vocals along with his ability to execute screams that would catch the attention of any hardcore music lover. Another standout on the album is “Dogs” for its catchy intro heavily based around fast and steady guitar work, structured bass lines and simple drumming. “Work With Me” is single-worthy, with its radio friendly instrumentals and identifiable lyrics.

The closing song (and first single), “The Longest Highway Home” brings the album full circle, wrapping up with the theme of life on the road, though this time telling of both the ups and downs. White sings, “This one goes out to the boys / All you boys in the back hanging out / You’ve got a love back home. / But when you’re with your friends / There’s no goddamn place in the world / that you’d rather be. / This is the longest highway I’ve been on, / on the loneliest day you’ve ever known.” It’s one of the more fast-paced tracks on the album and certainly one of the catchiest with steady framework of guitars and drums. It also throws in an unexpected bout of handclaps and rambunctious screams at the conclusion, reminding listeners that despite the serious undertone to the album, The Reason are having fun while doing their thing.

Overall, it’s a fine piece of alternative rock, complete with subtle layers of hardcore and pop and hidden instrumental textures, delivered in a raucous manner. Fools shows us that the boys have harnessed their sound and discovered their reason for making rock.

www.thereason.ca
www.myspace.com/thereasonrock