Album Details

• Artist: The Early November
• Album: The Mother, The Mechanic, And The Path
• Label: Drive-Thru
• Year of Release: 2006
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: symphony on 2007-10-20

C'mon, it's The Early November. I could write my whole review on the very foundation that they can literally do no wrong (aside from breaking up), but that would be biased and for the most part inaccurate, . The Mother, The Mechanic, and The Path is three separate albums that are only connected by a story, and are each radically different from the other. The Mechanic is a much more powerful, more alternative, more rough around the edges album, while The Mother is namesaked, soft, poppy, and catchy. The Path is a combo, both progressive and experimental, highly innovative and, most importantly, creative.

The Mechanic ropes you in with "Money In His Hand," which somewhat segways you into "The Rest of My Life" but ultimately dies off after "Decoration," the single best song of this portion of the three-disc. It's stunning introduction is very intense and leads you into this calm verse with these guitar chords that foreshadow an exceptionally powerful chorus with Ace Enders singing "Decoration" over and over. "The One That You Hated" tries to save the rest of the disc, but it just isn't as compelling as The Mother, even though vocally, Ace Enders' performance is stellar.

Meanwhile, The Mother is what you expect out of The Early November. Pop-oriented jingles that make you bounce, tap, snap to the beat. "My Lack of Skill" begins the disc with its simplistic piano intro and like at some sort of diner, Ace Enders' voice serenades us over expresso and discusses how he just doesn't compare to others, how he is always thinking he is alone and how it's "tough being alone, when you're naive." It's this song when you really appreciate the genius of this album. "A Little More Time" is yet another pop track, but the real shiner of the disc is "Hair," the album's first single. This lyrical gem placed upon the hand of epitome of pop melody sprinkled with little diamonds like a trumpet solo is true example of the growth the band went through during the writing process (as if the tabloids weren't enough).

The Path is the third and final disc, a discussion between a patient and his shrink, who, at the end of the discussion, we realize are the same person. We are at the end of this sort of autobiography of Ace Enders', the end result of his crazy diagrams. "A Bigger Meaning" ties all the loose ends but through out the disc we are also giving little jingles, like folkish- upbeatish songs that contradict the seriousness of their lyrics like "Guess What" or fast-paced yet depressing songs like "Never Coming Back" or "Decoration" to a morbid tone.

And after the third disc, you lay your head on your pillow, you've absorbed this three-disc variety and you let the story fill you, and the thing that you want out of music the most is to be touched. And you are. The story is so powerfully reiterated and so beautifully composed. That's probably the real stunning aspect to this feat.

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2007-10-23 blackxdan Said:

amazing album. i love it.
Not Rated