The Broken West
Now or Heaven

Campus Correspondent Review By Chad Comello
North Central College

The Broken West has toured with the likes of Fountains of Wayne and The National and this becomes evident while listening to its second full-length album Now or Heaven (Merge), the follow-up to 2007s I Cant Go On, Ill Go On. Mix the pop sensibilities of Fountains of Wayne and the indie folk rock of The National, add a little synth and some electric bass drum, and you have Now or Heaven.

Musically, the highs arent too high and the lows dont get low enough. When compared to the similar-sounding but better album Stop Heartbeat by the Foxglove Hunt (the side project of Ronnie Martin from Joy Electric and Fine Chinas Rob Withem), Now or Heaven has less energy and definition: should it be played in a club or an elevator? The best parts of the album, though, shine brightly, like the bass-thumping Auctioneer and Perfect Games, which both have single-worthy hooks. The vocals, credited to five different people, work well with or without harmonies; the band can pull it off both ways easily.

Lyrically, loss and lament are the threads that unify the album, setting up a unique dichotomy between the driving pop style of the music and the mild melancholy of the lyrics. Felt like forever was mine / til I held it up to the light they sing in Terror for Two. But the lyrical nuance and depth doesnt quite make up for whats essentially missing from Now or Heaven: something to compel us back for a second listen.