I am not a hoobastank fan. Until now. Great cd. Lyrics are impressive. And the political undertones are interesting. And they even included a raunchy cut, I really like.

I bought this cd thinking I liked a couple of their cuts. When I listened to the entire cd I was mesmerized. Get Stoned is extremely original in its content and approach, as is Lips of an Angel.

The vocals are harmonic and edgy. The guitar work is focused, combining hard edges and soft blends. A perfect example is the cut Better than me. Starting off soft, and smacking you with its entire escense, and then ending as soft as a feather. Lips of an Angel has the same effect. And the cuts are not monotone. Some groups think they have found a sound and abuse it throughout. Not these guys.

Granted, the lyrics are mostly about sadness and relationships, but their writing perspective is unique, and fresh. And not forced.

I really hope they can do a follow up that is as good.

While I might like some of the cuts off the album, it is best to save your money. It appears their record label forces licensing issues if you like to listen to your cuts on your mp3 player. The cd will only let you use wma file format. And limits the usage to Windows media player. So while I started liking the cuts, who has time to drag a cd around when you use an mp3 player. Try Hinder instead, or Blue October. Or stick to the new Hoobastank cd.

I have read that if you try to convert the files anyway the label has inserted pops and clicks to make it ugly.