Hawthorne Heights Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
Fragile Future is Hawthorne Heights' first effort without Casey Calvert, whose shrieking vocals helped establish the band as one of the only platinum-selling outfits in the screamo genre. Following his death in 2007, the remaining bandmates returned to the recording studio as a slimmed-down quartet, retaining their emo songcraft while doing away with Calvert's cathartic screams. Even so, Fragile Future is a thoroughly cathartic effort, with Calvert's death and the band's continued feud with Victory Records looming large in J.T. Woodruff's lyrics. "Don't hesitate to remember everything," he advises during the opening song, which combines palm-muted guitars with syncopated drums and lonely piano riffs. There's an obvious element of tragedy here, something that the band's music always hinted at but never seemed to fully inhabit until now. And given their situation, it's quite hard to criticize Hawthorne Heights for playing dark, nocturnal emo-rock songs, since few of their contemporaries have such an authentic reason for sounding depressed. "Rescue Me," "Somewhere in Between," and "Desperation" all cling to chugging guitars and impassioned (if slightly nasal) melodies, while "Disaster" adds a welcome touch of spaced-out electronica to vary the pattern. It's a familiar mix of music, to be sure, but Fragile Future also sounds more valid than other emo albums, even if its hooks aren't quite as muscular as those on the band's previous disc. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
'If Only You Were Lonely'
Release Date 2/28/2006
Tracks 13
Label Victory
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With the breakout success of Hawthorne Heights' 2004 debut, The Silence in Black and White, the little screamo band that could from Dayton, OH, could have easily taken the formulaic approach with its sophomore album. Instead, this rising new rock outfit does everything it can to broaden its scope on If Only You Were Lonely. One need look no further than the hushed, piano-steered closing number, "Decembers," which echoes both the Beach Boys and Death Cab for Cutie. That somber highlight aside, Hawthorne Heights haven't exactly ditched their calling card, as exhibited by the infectious, self-deprecating heartbreak anthem "We Are So Last Year" and "Pens and Needles," a bold, capable punk-pop nugget with serious devotional issues. The outfit's three-axe attack coupled with the distinctive pipes of J.T. Woodruff find Hawthorne Heights able to go where peers like Fall Out Boy just can't. Be it the downright winsome lilt of "Saying Sorry" or the riotous punk of "This Is Who We Are" -- painted with blood-curdling screams -- the group manages to walk the fine line between art and its aspirations of world domination with its credibility in check. ~ John D. Luerssen, All Music Guide
'The Silence in Black and White'
Release Date 6/1/2004
Tracks 11
Label Victory
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The closest Hawthorne Heights' debut album comes to originality is that they rip off bands in two different genres, trying to blend the pop-emo of Thursday, Jimmy Eat World, and the other post-Weezer bands with the glossy, commercial pop of bands like Good Charlotte. With J.T. Woodruff's faceless alternative rock vocals alternating with Casey Calvert's equally generic metalcore barking over Micah Carli's heard-it-before power chords, the band is doing absolutely nothing new. That said, what they do, they do pretty well. Most of the songs have reasonably catchy choruses, there are no particularly egregious mistakes or failed experiments, and the leadoff single, "Life on Standby," is actually quite good in a completely disposable way. The overall lack of personality on this album is its fatal flaw, however. There's nothing on The Silence in Black and White that'll make anyone turn it off and throw the CD across the room in a fit of rage, but it's hard to remember anything about the album an hour after it's over. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
