Hundred Reasons - Shatterproof Is Not A Challenge
Genre: Alternative Rock / Post-Hardcore
There are at least a hundred reasons to start listening to Hundred Reasons, though I will not list that many. Their simple music makes you forget about the 'important' things in life and lets you concentrate on the ones that actually matter. Whether you feel like age is taking over you physically or if you feel like aging because of stress and standard, boring routines of everyday life, their music makes you feel young again.
Yet, they are not what the youth traditionally craves for in music: anger, lust, opinions, idols. They maintain a certain maturity while making you want to bounce around in your room and jam with your air guitar. The British post-hardcore group, straight from Surrey, is an elixir of life and cuts your age in half inside your head.
Shatterproof Is Not A Challenge was released in 2004 as the second album of Hundred Reasons. The band took the smart route and decided not to change their style between albums and the sound is similar to their first album, Ideas Above Our Station. Yet, the second album seems a bit more emotional than the first one, which should be taken as a good thing. They smoothened the edges of their debut album and created a new one with something the first one lacked a bit - patience. Luckily the band didn't do any sell-out tricks and remained as a relatively unknown band with a strong grip on a style of their own.
Repetition lyrically and musically does wonders when done right and Hundred Reasons manages to surround the repetition with personality and diversity. Enjoying their music might be quite difficult if you crave for lyrical complexity and master-of-shredding-like riffs. Simplistic musical attributes and a down-to-earth lyrical themes are what they are all about.
1. Savanna - 3:10
The song builds up really fast after a soft start and Paul Townsend's vocals take the lead almost instantly. Despite not fully screaming or shouting, there's a lot of emotional-sounding power in his voice, agony and revenge mixed with some joy. After a strong center part, silence enters and Paul shows another aspect of his voice. Partly whispering and forming a moderately high-pitched voice, he sends the listener into another dimension inside the track. Ending the song with repeating the main line of the chorus, "Get on your knees, we're saviors.", wraps it all up and leaves a pleasant and anticipating feeling for the rest of the album.
9/10
2. Stories With Unhappy Endings - 3:48
The starting riff is quite catchy and when the drums are added, you can notice yourself wanting more already. This song is based on the decent guitar work rather than the vocals. The song follows one of the standard rock patterns of A/B/A/B/B, which tends to bore a little because Hundred Reasons is not a band who can craft solos in their songs.
After the outstanding starter track, Stories With Unhappy Endings doesn't satisfy as much as you'd like it to. It gets stuck with mediocrity lyrically and musically.
7/10
3. What You Get - 3:27
The quiet start is quite common in their music with the starting riff building quickly up and descending after just the most powerful momentum.
What You Get is one of the good standard Hundred Reasons songs on the album. It really brings nothing that exceptional but it doesn't make you want to switch to the next song. The chorus, even though a bit repetitive, sounds quite when not overdone. Before the ending chorus, the song takes a slower tempo and the preparation for the end sounds quite calm as an in-between-choruses part.
8.5/10
4. The Great Test - 1:59
A fairly short track and the band wastes no time bringing the song up to full throttle. Starting with a bang and continuing the same strength throughout the whole track is exactly what works well with their style. After halfway-through, they silence down the music a little to create another strong start towards the ending.
The only problem with this track is that it ends as if it crashed straight into a brick wall at the speed of light. You can't prepare your thoughts for the next track and you can't make up your mind of the song because it ended so abruptly.
8/10
5. Harmony - 3:34
"Sing this with me now, try to harmonize this."
Hundred Reasons wouldn't be a good alternative rock band if they didn't know how to create proper calmer and slower songs as well as those fast, strong tracks. Luckily, Harmony fills that gap to an extent. Paul's voice is peaceful even though the music is quite loud.
Comparing relationship problems to singing is a bit extraordinary but it's a decent metaphor. This is probably one of the most repetitive songs on the whole album because of the shortness of the chorus. The solo try-out is a bit sad but they get the points for actually trying something out of their style. One of the best songs on the album, mainly due to the fact that they use a lot of musical elements when you compare it to the other songs on the album.
9.5/10
6. Lullaby - 3:39
The track continues right from where Harmony left of and it creates a nice feeling of continuum. Lullaby is also a slower track and it's a bit odd to put two calmer and atmospheric tracks side by side. It somehow works because Lullaby only starts out as a quiet one. The climax is reached fully after the midpoint and again in the ending. The main riff in Lullaby is probably one of the best ones on Shatterproof Is Not A Challenge, which really makes the song worthwhile.
8.5/10
7. My Sympathy - 3:45
The intro of this track is quite long for Hundred Reasons (a whopping 15 seconds!) but it gives the listener some time to make out what the song might be like. My Sympathy uses the best of both worlds of Hundred Reasons. The peaceful verses with fairly simple and down-to-earth lyrics and the strong, loud chorus bring the song a tight grip to reside in.
The vocals create an emotional feeling abd the music supports the same feeling. Somehow, near the ending you notice that the song is over already. Let's play that again.
9.5/10
8. 80Mph - 1:53
Another short track with a fairly fast tempo and a catchy main riff.
Unfortunately the title of the track also tells how fast the track is over and the shortness really eats up the greatness of 80Mph.
"You open up,
You're cased in silence."
The lyrics describe a complex relationship with the other side doing opposite things at the opposite time. Uncontrollable feelings and contradictory words add weight to a relationship and eventually they become too much to carry around. Funnily enough, the lyrics remind me of the new Katy Perry song Hot 'N Cold, which is sort of not a good thing as Katy Perry shouldn't be compared to any real music.
8.5/10
9. Still Be Here - 3:48
The previous track needs to be balanced somehow and what else would work than a track full of peace and quietness. Yet, the same theme in the lyrics remains. The other participant in the relationship is the cause of problems again because they do the exact opposite of what you expected.
The sorrow and anger after a break-up are almost touchable in the lines of the lyrics. Releasing the anger in the ending works and the song climbs uphill towards the climax right in the ending. Repetition of "I will always care." shows that breaking up might not have been what both sides wanted.
8/10
10. Pop - 3:10
A joyful riff and a fast tempo makes Pop sound like it's not even a song of the melancholy Hundred Reasons. Lyrically, Pop isn't exactly a masterpiece but it's not right there with the worst ones either.
The repetition and circulation of the lyrics works to an extent but here the lack of words just doesn't cut it. The song silences down towards the ending, which in this case, is a good thing.
7.5/10
11. Truth With Elegance - 4:19
"Ignore the feeling the fluorescence you wash from your hair,
so the cruelty could cling to your pillow."
I find this song to be lyric-wise probably the best one on the whole album.
The music is nothing extraordinary but they've captured meaningful words this time. The lyrics remain around the same theme that has been going on through the whole album: hardships in relationships.
Truth With Elegance sums the theme up quite well and would work as ending track for the album also.
8.5/10
12. Makeshift - 3:10
A peaceful song where Paul uses his vocal talents extremely wraps up the album really well. The acoustic guitar blends well with the voice and the lack of drums creates a captivating peace, which can't really be spotted anywhere else within the album borders. The power of the song is increased towards the end and they use layered vocal within the last minute.
That's something they don't do too often, and it works just fine here. All-around a great song, which sounds nice whether you like their slower stuff or not.
9.5/10
Total score: 8.5/10
Solid album from a solid band. You should try them out - very hard to fully dislike.
Genre: Alternative Rock / Post-Hardcore
There are at least a hundred reasons to start listening to Hundred Reasons, though I will not list that many. Their simple music makes you forget about the 'important' things in life and lets you concentrate on the ones that actually matter. Whether you feel like age is taking over you physically or if you feel like aging because of stress and standard, boring routines of everyday life, their music makes you feel young again.
Yet, they are not what the youth traditionally craves for in music: anger, lust, opinions, idols. They maintain a certain maturity while making you want to bounce around in your room and jam with your air guitar. The British post-hardcore group, straight from Surrey, is an elixir of life and cuts your age in half inside your head.
Shatterproof Is Not A Challenge was released in 2004 as the second album of Hundred Reasons. The band took the smart route and decided not to change their style between albums and the sound is similar to their first album, Ideas Above Our Station. Yet, the second album seems a bit more emotional than the first one, which should be taken as a good thing. They smoothened the edges of their debut album and created a new one with something the first one lacked a bit - patience. Luckily the band didn't do any sell-out tricks and remained as a relatively unknown band with a strong grip on a style of their own.
Repetition lyrically and musically does wonders when done right and Hundred Reasons manages to surround the repetition with personality and diversity. Enjoying their music might be quite difficult if you crave for lyrical complexity and master-of-shredding-like riffs. Simplistic musical attributes and a down-to-earth lyrical themes are what they are all about.
1. Savanna - 3:10
The song builds up really fast after a soft start and Paul Townsend's vocals take the lead almost instantly. Despite not fully screaming or shouting, there's a lot of emotional-sounding power in his voice, agony and revenge mixed with some joy. After a strong center part, silence enters and Paul shows another aspect of his voice. Partly whispering and forming a moderately high-pitched voice, he sends the listener into another dimension inside the track. Ending the song with repeating the main line of the chorus, "Get on your knees, we're saviors.", wraps it all up and leaves a pleasant and anticipating feeling for the rest of the album.
9/10
2. Stories With Unhappy Endings - 3:48
The starting riff is quite catchy and when the drums are added, you can notice yourself wanting more already. This song is based on the decent guitar work rather than the vocals. The song follows one of the standard rock patterns of A/B/A/B/B, which tends to bore a little because Hundred Reasons is not a band who can craft solos in their songs.
After the outstanding starter track, Stories With Unhappy Endings doesn't satisfy as much as you'd like it to. It gets stuck with mediocrity lyrically and musically.
7/10
3. What You Get - 3:27
The quiet start is quite common in their music with the starting riff building quickly up and descending after just the most powerful momentum.
What You Get is one of the good standard Hundred Reasons songs on the album. It really brings nothing that exceptional but it doesn't make you want to switch to the next song. The chorus, even though a bit repetitive, sounds quite when not overdone. Before the ending chorus, the song takes a slower tempo and the preparation for the end sounds quite calm as an in-between-choruses part.
8.5/10
4. The Great Test - 1:59
A fairly short track and the band wastes no time bringing the song up to full throttle. Starting with a bang and continuing the same strength throughout the whole track is exactly what works well with their style. After halfway-through, they silence down the music a little to create another strong start towards the ending.
The only problem with this track is that it ends as if it crashed straight into a brick wall at the speed of light. You can't prepare your thoughts for the next track and you can't make up your mind of the song because it ended so abruptly.
8/10
5. Harmony - 3:34
"Sing this with me now, try to harmonize this."
Hundred Reasons wouldn't be a good alternative rock band if they didn't know how to create proper calmer and slower songs as well as those fast, strong tracks. Luckily, Harmony fills that gap to an extent. Paul's voice is peaceful even though the music is quite loud.
Comparing relationship problems to singing is a bit extraordinary but it's a decent metaphor. This is probably one of the most repetitive songs on the whole album because of the shortness of the chorus. The solo try-out is a bit sad but they get the points for actually trying something out of their style. One of the best songs on the album, mainly due to the fact that they use a lot of musical elements when you compare it to the other songs on the album.
9.5/10
6. Lullaby - 3:39
The track continues right from where Harmony left of and it creates a nice feeling of continuum. Lullaby is also a slower track and it's a bit odd to put two calmer and atmospheric tracks side by side. It somehow works because Lullaby only starts out as a quiet one. The climax is reached fully after the midpoint and again in the ending. The main riff in Lullaby is probably one of the best ones on Shatterproof Is Not A Challenge, which really makes the song worthwhile.
8.5/10
7. My Sympathy - 3:45
The intro of this track is quite long for Hundred Reasons (a whopping 15 seconds!) but it gives the listener some time to make out what the song might be like. My Sympathy uses the best of both worlds of Hundred Reasons. The peaceful verses with fairly simple and down-to-earth lyrics and the strong, loud chorus bring the song a tight grip to reside in.
The vocals create an emotional feeling abd the music supports the same feeling. Somehow, near the ending you notice that the song is over already. Let's play that again.
9.5/10
8. 80Mph - 1:53
Another short track with a fairly fast tempo and a catchy main riff.
Unfortunately the title of the track also tells how fast the track is over and the shortness really eats up the greatness of 80Mph.
"You open up,
You're cased in silence."
The lyrics describe a complex relationship with the other side doing opposite things at the opposite time. Uncontrollable feelings and contradictory words add weight to a relationship and eventually they become too much to carry around. Funnily enough, the lyrics remind me of the new Katy Perry song Hot 'N Cold, which is sort of not a good thing as Katy Perry shouldn't be compared to any real music.
8.5/10
9. Still Be Here - 3:48
The previous track needs to be balanced somehow and what else would work than a track full of peace and quietness. Yet, the same theme in the lyrics remains. The other participant in the relationship is the cause of problems again because they do the exact opposite of what you expected.
The sorrow and anger after a break-up are almost touchable in the lines of the lyrics. Releasing the anger in the ending works and the song climbs uphill towards the climax right in the ending. Repetition of "I will always care." shows that breaking up might not have been what both sides wanted.
8/10
10. Pop - 3:10
A joyful riff and a fast tempo makes Pop sound like it's not even a song of the melancholy Hundred Reasons. Lyrically, Pop isn't exactly a masterpiece but it's not right there with the worst ones either.
The repetition and circulation of the lyrics works to an extent but here the lack of words just doesn't cut it. The song silences down towards the ending, which in this case, is a good thing.
7.5/10
11. Truth With Elegance - 4:19
"Ignore the feeling the fluorescence you wash from your hair,
so the cruelty could cling to your pillow."
I find this song to be lyric-wise probably the best one on the whole album.
The music is nothing extraordinary but they've captured meaningful words this time. The lyrics remain around the same theme that has been going on through the whole album: hardships in relationships.
Truth With Elegance sums the theme up quite well and would work as ending track for the album also.
8.5/10
12. Makeshift - 3:10
A peaceful song where Paul uses his vocal talents extremely wraps up the album really well. The acoustic guitar blends well with the voice and the lack of drums creates a captivating peace, which can't really be spotted anywhere else within the album borders. The power of the song is increased towards the end and they use layered vocal within the last minute.
That's something they don't do too often, and it works just fine here. All-around a great song, which sounds nice whether you like their slower stuff or not.
9.5/10
Total score: 8.5/10
Solid album from a solid band. You should try them out - very hard to fully dislike.