The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Lonely Road Review

Posted by Jacob Crogie on 03.15.2009

RJA are back with their second full length album, featuring songs about war, peace and the interconnectivity of mankind. I think I speak for everyone when I give this a giant WTF? This, coming from the guys that brought the world "Face Down" and "Your Guardian Angel" off of the album "Don't You Fake It". Ironic, how they ignored their own advice.

Track Listing

1."You Better Pray" - 3:35
2."No Spell" - 3:03
3."Pen & Paper" - 3:24
4."Represent" - 3:24
5."Pull Me Back" - 3:10
6."Step Right Up" - 3:47
7."Believe" - 4:14
8."Pleads and Postcards" - 3:28
9."Lonely Road" - 4:14
10."Senioritis" - 2:19
11."Godspeed" - 5:38




The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are back with the follow up to their crossover success, "Don't You Fake It". That album was driven by two awesome tracks, "Your Guardian Angel" and "Face Down". However, the rest of the album was lacklustre in comparison, will their second album have more depth? Or will the sophomore jinx drive them further down the creative pipeline? If you have listened to this album at all, you already know the answer...

Musicality

RJA are at their best when thrashing or playing sweet acoustic melodies. Within those two styles they are most comfortable, and most enjoyable...problem...on this album they lose the thrash...and the acoustic power. They attempt to occupy the middle ground churning out modern rock fare, without all the power and speed evident in earlier works. Furthermore, RJA seem intent to avoid any attempt to recreate "Your Guardian Angel" and instead the closest thing they have to a ballad is almost cringeworthy in its popiness. That track, "Believe", is a musical lowpoint of the album, its almost as if they are attempting their best Nickelback impression, with the expected disgusting results. RJA in general are not overly complex musically, even in their opus, "Face Down", there are simple chord progressions and an easy 4/4 time signature with running eighth notes. Here, is more of the same, with some attempts at variation that come off as generic stabs at attempting to overstretch their musical boundaries. Playing to your strengths is key in the creative process, they seem to have forgotten this principle except on my personal favorite track "Senioritis", which dwells in a nice musical groove and seems familiar but not tired.

Lyrical Ability

Well...this is where this album really begins to board the fail train. RJA where never known as lyrical masterminds, but they showed a flair for writing on "Your Guardian Angel", which dwelled in the realm of the All-American Rejects, simple yet awesome lyrics. Here, everything is overstated, and seems tired and almost hackworthy. They play up tired cliches in the horrible "Believe" and "Lonely Road", we get it...be all you can be and all that shit. You were pretty cool at one point, now the Jonas Brothers have more of an edge then you. Nowhere is this more evident then in the idiotic anti-war piece, "Godspeed", which takes them down a path they should never tread. Once again, it is a case of trying to do too much with too little. On "Don't You Fake It", they were about the simple, and the edgy, whereas, here, the listener is subjected to war ballads, world peace envoys and just an all around preachy message...from the guys who brought us "Face Down". What happened? I believe they have become success drunk, and have delusions of grandeur. Overreaching much?

Originality

In attempting to distance themselves from other bands within their genre, they have lost all originality. Ironic isn't it? When you begin singing about war in a kitschy way, you know you have hit the big time. You aren't Rise Against, a band full of political activists, you are an emo-punk band...sing about emo-punk things but put your own twist on it. This was what made you popular, stop preaching about living your own life and the innerconnectivity of the species. You can't do those topics justics, you sound like a bunch of tired hacks attempting to become the biggest rock band in the world. Live within your talents. RANT OFF.

Replay Value

Some tracks aren't bad, like "Senioritis" and "Pen & Paper" but overall there is no reason to listen to this album on repeat. Most of the songs here are mediocre, falling into the same trap of "Don't You Fake It", which was more of a frame for "Face Down" then anything else. However, this song lacks the breakout awesomeness of a track like "Your Guardian Angel", and for that it fails. Barely worth a download in my opinion, pick up the two aforementioned tracks and you have heard everything worth hearing.

The 411: Well, that was interesting. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, in attempting to make the greatest album of all time fall victim to their own misdirected goals. Full of bombastic lyrics and below average musicality, they have lost all that made them enjoyable in the first place. Play to your strengths! Someone needs to tell them that.

Final Score:  5.5   [ Not So Good ]