The Normals

Item: Better Than This
Author: Bert Gangl

Better Than This

(1998)

Reviewed by Bert Gangl

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Label ForeFront RecordsThe LighthouseUnsorted 1998

alternative rock jangle pop pop rock

Andy Osenga, Mark Lockett and Clayton Daily were discovered by Whiteheart's Billy Smiley while playing music sets in and around their hometown in the Midwest. The trio from Normal, Illinois, from which the band derived its name, traveled to Nashville to cut a demo tape at Smiley's request. The demo eventually made its way to ForeFront Records' A&R Executive, Eddie DeGarmo, who signed the band in the spring of 1998.

Musically, the songs on the group's debut album fall into the now sizable catalog of Christian alternative pop rock music, and do so with varying measures of success. Acoustic guitars and sparkling harmonies ride atop programmed percussion, a la Jars of Clay, on the driving "Song And Dance." And the infectious chorus and soaring vocals on "Something To Believe" bring to mind work from pop groups like the Gin Blossoms. But where these songs and a good number of others on the album are propelled delightfully by virtue of their sheer energy, a fair number of the other songs, such as "Forgive" and "Better Than This," wind up as mostly lackluster due to their overly plaintive vocal delivery and meandering instrumental work.

If the album is a mixed bag musically, it is equally so wordwise. To its credit, "Better Than This" boasts above-average lyrics that are both witty and evocative. But the singularity and starkness of these lyrics is largely offset by their tendency towards excessive introspection. For example, the comparison of a person's keeping up appearances in the midst of great inner struggles to a hybrid game of survival and show-and-tell in "Song And Dance" is certainly clever enough. But, as a whole, the album's overabundance of material related to gut-wrenching self-critique begins to mire itself in, rather than merely chronicle, the rueful human condition outside of God.

Despite its various shortcomings, though, the album does hit the mark both lyrically and musically at the same time in at least a few places. For instance, the likeable "Everything" employs a pleasantly laid-back groove together with an engaging story-telling approach to highlight the value of simple acts of kindness. And the amusing lyrics of "What's Ailing Norman" mesh perfectly with its energetic music and tight harmonies to create a pure pop gem. Indeed, it is numbers like these that offer sure proof that the members of The Normals are talented writers and musicians capable of crafting catchy and memorable songs. It remains to be seen whether successive efforts from the trio will make good on the potential that songs like these offer.