The Architects – The Hard Way

On his review for Vice, Keith described the album saying “Vice is unabashedly a rock and roll album.” A year later I have in my hands the follow-up to to that album, and The Architects‘ fourth album, The Hard Way; and after listening to the CD numerous times I can’t help but agree with him as once again The Architects have delivered an album that is unabashedly a rock and roll album.

Throwing back to some of the rock and roll acts of the seventies, The Hard Way is laced with anthemic moments that blares through like a Tom Petty or John Mellencamp tune. Gritty and worn, the record is laced with a slightly dark overtone held together by a sense of melody and garage-rock hooks ala Jet or The Strokes. Unafraid to show their mid-western roots, The Hard Way also a features an occasional country-laced moment normally delivered through the uniquely hoarse vocals and a bouncy guitar riff.

Bastards At The Gate, the definite stand out of the album, is an up tempo rocker that utilizes a thick bass line backed up by thunderous, sing-along chorus while Knowing Is Half the Bottle blasts through with a quick and ferocious opening verse before knocking the temp in half for an almost Replacements like chorus. Big Iron Gate has a heavy country-feel to it but also works thanks to an energetic backing chorus of “woahs.”

When they pull in these little ingenuities and changes to the rock and roll structure, creating a sense of individuality and personality at the same time, The Architects deliver an track worthy of many repeated listens. Unfortunately, for each time they create deliver a song built on their unique personality, they also deliver one that follows the play-by-play structure of a classic rock tune. Like Death Rides A Horse, which is a paint-by-numbers classic rock song that would fit into Guitar Hero and even has that “wicked awesome” solo to end it off with but there’s very few memorable qualities of the song that linger in your head once it comes to an end.

The entire album has a gritty, dark, slightly western, rock and roll feel to it. It’s an unabashedly rock and roll album but its only really when they add their own sense of personality and attitude into the song thatThe Architects really shine. The rest, while solid enough, just feels like its lacking something.