Ace Enders & A Million Different People - When I Hit The Ground Review

Posted by Tom Santoro on 04.04.2009

The Early November front man goes solo with some catchy pop rock. A Million different people can't be wrong...


TRACK LISTING:

1. Reintroduction
2. Take the Money and Run
3. New Guitar
4. Only Thing I Have (The Sign)
5. When I Hit The Ground
6. Reaction
7. Sweeter Light
8. SOS
9. Over This
10. Where Do We Go From Here
11. Emergency
12. Leader
13. Bring Back Love
14. Can’t Run Away



Going solo is usually something every front man dreams of. If you do the majority of the writing, singing, arranging, then it is only a logical step to want to. In the case of Ace Enders going solo was probably an easy decision.

For those of you who don’t know, Ace Enders is the prolific former lead singer for the pop emo rock fixture The Early November. The reason the decision to go solo was easy was more in part, because The Early November went through constant line up changes in its 8 year history. The only constant in the band over this time was Enders, whose song writing skills gave us the bands last album The Mother, The Mechanic and the Path a triple disc. The Early November has been on a hiatus since mid-2007.

With every ending comes a new beginning. Now playing with a rotating band called A Million Different People, Enders releases his second solo effort When I Hit The Ground. His first release was available only through fusetv.com while When I Hit The Ground is being distributed through Vagrant/Drive-Thru and shows that Enders skills as a songwriter has evolved into a more polished pop rock than previous releases.

When I Hit The Ground serves as a do over for Enders, who seems to want to put all of his past work behind him and look forward to his future. The album is arranged in three parts. The first two tracks deal with his bitterness with the events that took place in his musical past and the frustrations he endured while part of The Early November. After the bitterness and angst ends, he delves into his new direction, a decidedly pop rock a la The All American Rejects style full of positive subjects and relationship songs ready for radio. The last few songs are socially conscience subjects that are full of hope but lyrically are a little over dramatic.

“Reintroduction” is a great opener that is both an apology to Early November fans and a promise to surrender to his passion to be a musician. He softly rasps the first verse “I’ve Been A Ghost/I’ve Been a Question/I’ve Been a Mirror/A Poor Reflection/I’ve Been a Myth in the Past few years of my life” while his strums his guitar and slowly gets angrier and louder. The end has the same rock intensity of the Foo Fighters’ song “The Pretender”.

The bitterness of “Reintroduction” flows perfectly into the even more venomous track, “Take The Money and Run”. It takes aim at someone who wronged him in the past like maybe the multiple members of the Early November who did not give there all or a critic or producer or label who thinks his music sounds the same as others in the genre. The chorus “All I have to say/You Made a Fortune off of me/Saying every one around me looks the same.” It is not clear who raised his ire but it is clear he is not happy with whoever it is.

After he wraps up the loose ends of his term with The Early November, he uses the middle of the album to express his longing for a new direction and renewed energy to be a musician. “New Guitar” is a short acoustic number that serves as the bridge to the more pop friendly portion of the album. The song is about being happy to make the decision to go solo and is metaphorically him coming out of his cocoon to be reborn.

The middle of the album is full of radio friendly pop rock that will have you singing along. The songs are full of pop rock clichés like big guitar hooks and songs about relationships, but this is not a bad thing as Enders wears his heart on his sleeve. It is very polished for an indie recording.

Some of the best songs on the album are the hook heavy pop songs, highlighted by the hook heavy “Only Thing I Have (The Sign)”, the sing a long “Reaction”, the sugary “SOS” and “Sweeter Light”. All of these songs are suitable for their target audience of teens who will undoubtedly be playing these songs through the summer. Enders is on some high profile tours in the near future including opening for All American Rejects and a slot on the Bamboozle Festival in New Jersey. His fan base should increase after he plays these dates.

Enders is also good when he slows things down like on the title track “When I Hit The Ground” and “Emergency”. His introspection on these tracks as well as the tempo changing “Where Do We Go From Here” shows that Enders is just coming into his own as a lyricist. That being said, sometimes he misses.

The last few tracks are socially conscience numbers that really get hokey and are not very deep at all. The worst song is “Bring Back Love”. I like the positive vibe and tone but in the lyrics of the chorus are downright dreadful, “By the year 2020 I want to look at what we did so we can stand up all together because we put an end to it.” It seems premature to be this hopeful, but I a pessimistic music critic at heart so what do I know. “Leader” is an Anti-Bush, Anti-War song that is lyrically very strong but the arrangement does not seem to match the tone. It doesn’t feel angry or frustrated enough until the end.

The 411: When I Hit The Ground is a very strong pop record that will ultimately make Enders a household name. He is honing in his songwriting skills and is becoming comfortable in the studio, as the production is very polished. This is recommended for fans of the All American Rejects.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]