Gratitude - Gratitude

Genre rock Publisher Atlantic Records External Links Official Website Atlantic Records

The roads of pop music radio are littered with acts that showed up for a couple hit songs and then simply ran out of gas. These acts produced songs that lasted an entire summer or fall and maybe got them a shot on Leno or Letterman. Bands like Better than Ezra, Dishwalla and Vertical Horizon all had ambitions to create hit after hit like U2 by studying guitar at the School of The Edge and belting out lyrics reminiscent of Bono. The band Gratitude comes from the same vein as the above on their self-titled album which is loaded with huge radio choruses and guitars that opening acts dream of filling arenas with.

And to the band's credit, they do an excellent job of making really nice songs. "Drive Away" showcases Jonah Matranga's vocal ability throughout an excellent chorus line. The guitars go from soft to loud in seconds and as if to hammer home just how proud the band are of the radio ready chorus they repeat it over and over again at the end of the song. "Last" sounds similar to the opening track but incorporates a choppier guitar sound and the middle breaks down into a love note sung over piano before closing with the huge guitar sound again.

No band setting out to conquer pop radio would be complete without cheesy ballads. "The Greatest Wonder" keeps the guitars and vocals leashed, but manages to fit in nicely as a break to the over the top hooks the band uses early on. The guitar plucking and whispered vocals of "Someone to Love" ties in an Adam Clayton-esque bassline that makes a lyric like "I want somebody to love" somewhat forgivable. Shimmering guitars dual with Matranga's optimistic words on "Dream, Again," a song destined for a WB episode. The major drawback to the album is a four-song sequence in the middle that lack distinguishable choruses and the compelling guitar sounds that make the early part of the album so interesting. Closer "Begin Again" is darker than anything that preceded it but contains the most ambitious work on the album.

The music Gratitude makes is not ground breaking, in fact it is something I've heard dozens of times before. That doesn't change the fact that some of the songs here are quite good. In the end it doesn't matter if you become one of those bands that are strewn across the pop music highway. Having gotten there is more than most bands can ever brag about.