I got this album because I was a fan of the hit songs Meant To Live and Dare You To Move. I was in for a very pleasant surprise when I put this in my CD player. Each song here has a message, teaching morals as simple as the fact that God's love is powerful (On Fire), to the fact that we're not gonna be here forever (This Is Your Life; Gone). This album really isn't a beautiful letdown.

Meant To Live

"We were meant to live for so much more.
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside."

This was the first single from the album. It's about our desire to have more and more, and the fact that we'll never see it. I liked the song from the first time I heard it on a Christian music video program, but radio simply killed its effect on me. Not to say it's a bad song, but radio just killed it.

This Is Your Life

"This is your life.
Are you who you want to be?"

This is a slow, and tad repetitive song that has a simple yet effective message: Yesterday is gone, and will never return. Listeners may be turned off due to the slow beginning, which uses loops that can be heard in just about any rap song.

More Than Fine

"More than fine…
More than bent on getting by.
More than fine…
More than just OK."

In this song, songwriter and lead vocalist Jon Foreman is simply wishing to have a very good day. Sure, it’s not Christian, but hey, don’t we all wish for a great day? Yeah, I thought so. The beginning riff in the song sounds like something Sheryl Crow may have used before. However, it’s in a league of its own after Jon F. starts singing.

Ammunition

"We’ve been blowing up, it’s our condition.
We’ve been blowing up, our detonation.
We’ve been blowing up, we’re ammunition.
We are the fuse and ammunition."

We are the cause of our own problems, enough said. We blame others, but we never really think about it. The intro is like no other on the album. First the drums come in, followed by the bass, and then a piano, and finally the other guitars kick in, and never let up from there.

Dare You to Move

"I dare you to move
Like today never happened before."

That one line itself is powerful. Sometimes we all feel like just falling and not getting up. Next time you feel this way, keep this line in mind.

Redemption

"I’ve got my hand at redemption’s side
Whose scars are bigger than these doubts of mine.
I’ll fit all of these monstrosities aside
And then I’ll come alive."

Not much to say about this song. I regard it as filler, although not bad filler. It’s got a moral to it, but I haven’t quite figured out what it is yet. This song begins and ends too quick to be fully enjoyed be me, although it is a good song while it lasts.

The Beautiful Letdown

"I don’t belong here...
I’ll carry a cross and a song where I don’t belong."

There you go. We really don’t belong here. We’re all sinners who are hellbound, but we are continuing to defy Satan and getting saved by God. Jon Foreman sums this point up in this title track. Only one gripe: It’s just a tad bit too long. If they cut off about a minute, it would be perfect.

Gone

"We are not infinite.
We are not permanent.
Nothing’s immediate."

The lyrics make it sound like a continuation of the theme from This Is Your Life a few tracks before, and really, that’s all Gone is. However, it’s much more upbeat and has actual instruments, instead of guitar loops.

On Fire

"I’m on fire when You’re near me.
I’m on fire when You speak.
I’m on fire burning at these mysteries."

This nice piano ballad tells how God’s love is powerful. He loves you no matter who you are or what you do. I’m not usually one for piano ballads, but I make an exception for On Fire, because Jon used up every ounce of energy he had to belt out the lyrics like he did.

Adding To the Noise

"From the third world
To the corporate core
We are the symphony
Of modern humanity."

Excellent lyrics from Jon right here. I’m not sure of the Christian value, but this song is all about how we, as Americans, are stimulated by technology, even though we really don’t need it. This track happens to be the shortest one on the disc, but I think that that was intentional.

Twenty-Four

"I’m not who I thought I was
twenty-four hours ago
but still I’m singing Spirit, take me up in arms with You."

Exactly how I feel. This album-ending semi-acoustic song is about how one day, we think we are something, but by the next day, we’ve changed. The song begins very suddenly, without an intro, and ends by fading out suddenly.

The bottom line:

If you want an album that teaches morals, buy The Beautiful Letdown. If you want trash, buy a rap album.