In retrospect, it was probably asking too much to expect Lifehouse to make good on the promise of their first hit. “Hanging by a Moment” perfectly blended grunge verses with soaring pop choruses in a manner that had some thinking the band could be the next big thing. Singer Jason Wade spoke of his love for both Nirvana and Top 40, and the marriage of the two seemed to be a winning formula. Six years and three albums later, “Hanging” seems to have been a fluke. On Who We Are, Lifehouse is perfectly content to churn out a collection of songs which all basically sound the same—one generic guitar-based pop/rock song blurring into the next. The only variety comes on the acoustic ballad “Storm,” the lone track the puts the focus on singer Jason Wade’s voice rather than bland guitar arrangements, and the aggressive, better “The Joke.” It’s often hard to tell whether Wade is singing about God or a girlfriend, and that’s intentional; as a pseudo-Christian band, Lifehouse tries to have it both ways, their lyrics vague enough to allow some fans to interpret their songs as spiritually-based: “If I could just see you/Everything would be all right.” Ultimately, though, the ambiguities mean Wade ends up not saying much at all.
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