Review by Kate Preston
Southern California natives The Beautiful Mistake have left the Mecca of all things up-and-coming in a tireless venture to bring This is Who You Are to life on the road. The music pouring out of So-Cal and seemingly polluting the airwaves often does little to shake the squeaky-clean pop rock influence that has thus far proven a failsafe formula for success, so I set the bar admittedly low from the beginning.
My skepticism was quickly quieted upon hearing the first few seconds of the album-opening title track. Though the sound may be reminiscent of any number of bands getting airplay today, it’s clear that these guys understand the essence of songwriting beyond fitting nicely into a certain niche.
With a powerful yet smooth delivery, Josh Hagquist provides a solid backbone to TBM’s sound belting out harmonies so expressive both his joy and mourning radiate amid a backdrop of clever melody. Airy and upbeat leads are played atop a more hard-driving and heavy guitar sound and fast-crashing drumbeats throughout most of the This is Who You Are. For a predominantly nondescript and cookie cutter genre, TBM got and held my attention with something a little more intelligent than their peers have to offer.
While The Beautiful Mistake mostly steered clear of cliché ballads, My Reminder relies on a formula a little too saccharine-sweet and overdone to the point of making you want to wave your arms to the rhythm in jest…perhaps while gagging. Insert obligatory acoustic intro, mix with lyrics fit for the Hallmark greetings’ bargain bin; “every time I see your face I’m reminded of what it is to be alive,” and the result is a little ditty that will serve as the soundtrack to countless lovey-dovey teens losing their virginity in a clumsy backseat romp.
“Time stands so still in the wake of your passing.” Without listening closely to the lyrics, it’s impossible to tell and perplexing that the peppy and upbeat track, The Separation, is actually about losing a loved one. Being one that thrives on shamelessly gloomy music, the juxtaposition of lyrical content and musical delivery here is entirely lost on me. This was a wasted opportunity to write your ultimate suicide track, guys!
With a bit more of a dark sound, The Great Divorce stands out as the best constructed and most captivating effort on the album. A hushed, rolling verse is churned out with a sense of urgency unparalleled on the disc. Upon hitting a climactic chorus seemingly pleading to maintain hope that “the light will find you,” TBM reach what is quite possibly the pinnacle of their collective energies. From there, the remainder of the album maintains a poppy groove you can’t help but bob your head along too.
This is Who You Are is short (clocking in at 37 minutes), woefully sweet and to the point. Given Hagquist’s solid vocal performance and the occasional melodic interlude thrown into overall catchy tunes, the album somehow remains fresh in its familiar sound.