From as early as the opening notes of ‘Wallflower’ it’s clear that ‘There’s Nothing Wrong With Me’, is going to sound and feel markedly different to their début album ‘Hard Feelings’. With guitarist Brian Joyce now taking care of vocal duties, there’s a more pronounced personal feel throughout the album than the band have previously displayed with Brian explaining that it “dives into the deepest depths of my person and lays it all out”.
Such an honest approach can occasionally result in an overwhelming listen, or an underwhelming one if the band have nothing interesting to say, but for the most part, Major League carry it off brilliantly. It may take a few songs, but ‘There’s Nothing Wrong With Me’ really hits its stride with ‘Pillow Talk’, which wraps up the emotion and honesty in something more immediate and appealing. It’s more successful than the song before it, ‘Graves’, which struggles with the progression from verse to chorus and fails to make much of a lasting impact.
Thankfully, they continue to go from strength to strength over the following tracks, demonstrating just how beneficial a renewed and more focussed outlook can be for a band. This refined approach sees Major League confidently tackling a diverse range of subjects and there are echoes of Brand New across the album, particularly in the way that they handle religious themes on ‘Just As I Am’ and the ways in which they are growing as a band.
However, that’s not to say that they have completely abandoned their musical past, and ‘Kaleidoscopes’ provides not only one of the record’s faster and attention grabbing moments, but also the first real sing-along of the album. ‘Devil’s Advocate’ is similarly driven, combining the pop-punk pace of their ‘Hard Feelings’ material with a harder edge and their newly acquired lyrical tone.
For the majority of ‘There’s Nothing Wrong With Me’ the songs are backed with buzzing guitars and strong drumming, and whilst there’s no second half collapse, there are moments where the drums and the riffs are less than memorable. ‘Little Eyes’ and ‘Recovery’ for example, fail to deliver the musical backing that the song-writing deserves.
Thankfully, by the time the energetic and anthemic ‘Rittenhouse’ comes along any doubts about Major League falling victim to the dreaded second album syndrome are instantly forgotten. With ‘There’s Nothing Wrong With Me’, Major League have not only struck a balance that will please fans old and new, but more more importantly in the words of Brian Joyce given themselves “the identity we feel we’ve lacked in the past”. It might suffer from a few misses but overall it’s a compelling listen that is going to further cement their growing reputation.
CHRIS HILSON