Having reviewed very recently Dan + Shay's latest album, which was overly cheesy, repetitive, and lacked of musical creativity, I was expecting something much better from Hunter Hayes, and he got the job done. While the album still aims directly at the girly teenagers on the lookout for love songs, breakup songs, get back together songs, Hunter manages to have a little fun doing really awesome music, and writing some really fantastic songs as well.
The creativity on some songs is really impressive, showcased particularly on songs like Invisible, You Think You Know Somebody and Nothing Like Starting Over. The producing on this album is stellar, and from listening to the album, knowing that Hunter is 22 now, I'm getting the genuine feeling that he's starting to outgrow his target market and thinking about what's next already. Well I sure hope so, because I won't be writing a positive critique of his next album if we get served a bunch of love songs once again, you can be sure of that one. This is where we'll know if Hunter can write great songs outside of his usual repertoire. But overall, this is a great album, but definitely aimed at a very narrow audience though, who will find it even more tremendous than I did.
TLDR: Even though this album features an overdose of love songs, the quality of the production, as well as the diversity of the musical arrangements will please to an audience who might not be a fan of Hunter Hayes otherwise. I fully expect his next album to start diverging from the girly teenager audience.
8.5/10
Wild Card
This was a great introduction song, very catchy, very outgoing, gets you right in the album. I liked it. - 8/10
Storyline
This was written right off the bat to be a single that plays day in, day out, and it's mission accomplished (well will be at some point in time). The song hits all the right triggers, and we'll hear a lot of it soon enough. - 9/10
Still Fallin
Hunter manages to overcome the overly cheesy lyrics on this one with a pretty good vocal performance, despite being quite unemotional for such a slow song. This doesn't come at the surprise when considering boring story featured here... - 6.5/10
Tattoo
This was a song that really positively surprised me on the album. I found myself really liking the song, only after 1 or 2 times of listening to it. It's very catchy, upbeat and fun. - 8.5/10
Invisible
I was really surprised by the lackluster reception this song got on the radio. I found the song to be exceptionally well written, with a very strong and clear message, which could resonate a lot with Hunter's audience. I really liked that song, beautifully produced. - 9.5/10
...interlude
I was surprised by this "musical" lapse in the album. A good introduction to the next song I guess.
You Think You Know Somebody
What stands out of this song is how different it sounds from the rest of the pack. It's original, very emotional, and the singing is wonderful. It felt a lot more mature than what Hunter usually prefers to stick with as well. - 9/10
Flashlight
This song is another example of quality production, and musical diversity by Hunter Hayes. Even though the song lacks emotion, it still sounds pretty great. - 7.5/10
When Did You Stop Loving Me
Argh. Another overly cheesy love song. This one totally lacks emotion, and the singing wasn't Hunter's best. Pass that song and you won't miss a thing. - 4.5/10
...like I was saying (jam)
That part could have been omitted from the album in my mind. I guess they couldn't include it in the last song because it would have been too long...
Secret Love
Even though it's always nice to see Hunter experience with different styles, this song wasn't one of the best of the album. The singing felt uninspired, and we can feel the repetitiveness of the lyrics. - 7/10
Nothing Like Starting Over
I found myself to really like this song. It's upbeat as a whole, but there's also some moments of downtempo, which makes the song much more interesting. Plus, the lyrics are meaningful, and the singing is stellar. - 8.5/10
If It's Just Me
Again, another very well produced song. The lyrics aren't particularly interesting, but the singing is decent, and the song is pretty catchy. - 8/10
Love Too Much
The ending song of an album is always either pretty good, or a total disaster. Thank goodness, this one lands on the "pretty good" aspect. It's conservative, but gets the job done, though the song-writing is overly cheesy once again. - 7/10
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