Music Reviews

Hoobastank – ‘For(N)ever’ – Album Review

By Mateo Gamboa Feb 6, 2009, 16:19 GMT

2009 album from the Alterna-Rock heroes, produced by Howard Benson who is best known for his work with My Chemical Romance, Daughtry, Reliant K and Flyleaf. When a band has as much success as Hoobastank, the motivation to top itself must come from within. That renewed desire can be heard from the very first notes of "My Turn," the first single from Fornever, which marks a return to the Rock ...more

Hoobastank’s new album, ‘For(N)ever’ is their best yet.

The band lost popularity after their release of ‘The Reason,’ but should gain back most of the fans that were disappointed with some of their previous albums with their release of ‘For(N)ever.’

Their decision to slow things down a little bit and put more emotion into their songs has given their music more body, and has also shown the alternative rock community that the band is not “Crawling in the Dark” any longer.

My criticism of their earlier albums including a self titled CD, ‘The Reason,’ and ‘Every Man for Himself’ is not due to a dislike of their style or lyrics, but because their music sounded unpolished at times…something ‘For(N)ever’ corrects.

The music in their new album sounds much more mature and full of emotion. Lead singer Doug Robb pulls on listeners’ heart strings in just the right ways with songs like “My Turn,” “You’re the One,” “I Don’t Think I Love You” and “You Should Be Here.”

One thing I noticed about the album the second time I listened to it is how much I underestimated the underlying beat work by drummer Chris Hesse.

Some of the beats that Hesse generates are pretty complex, but the fact that I didn’t notice them the first time I listened to the CD shows how seamless and mature Hoobastank’s sound has become.