Major League - There's Nothing Wrong With Me (Album Review)

Major League's sophomore album comes on the heels of the band announcing their long time vocalist had left the band. It also shows the band trying some new things and heading in some new creative directions. I really started to get interested in the album  after hearing a few of the singles and wondered what this new Major League album was going to sound like.

I think it's safe to say that this new Major League album is definitely Major League 2.0. It's a very different direction for the band. With the departure of vocalist Nick Trask and guitarist Brian Joyce taking on the lead vocal duties it has definitely moved the band in a new direction.  Joyce has a very different vocal style. I believe it's a vocal style that very much fits the style of this album, which moves more toward the sound of bands like Balance And Composure. Fittingly the band also took their new sound and batch of songs to producer Will Yip who produced Balance And Composure's 2013 album The Things We Think We're Missing. It definitely has more of an alternative emo/rock vibe with heavy guitars mixed with melodic elements, brooding vocals, and a good handful of pretty introspective lyrics. Yip once again sprinkles his magic on the songs throughout the album and once again shines as a producer. Fans might bark at the creative shift and sound shift calling it "another Will Yip sounding album". I would be more inclined to believe the band had a batch of songs, a direction they wanted to go in, and took them to Yip to make sure the songs were in good hands. Regardless of what your opinion of Yip is as a producer, I think There's Nothing Wrong With Me is a very good album, even if at times it does sound eerily familiar in certain spots to production found on The Things We Think We're Missing.

The big thing to me about whether the album succeeds or not is will pop/punk fans of the band be on board for not only a singer switch but a pretty distinctively different sounding band on this album. I'm sure there will be critics on both sides. I tend to think this is far and above a pretty good album and probably more noteworthy than the band's previous album Hard Feelings. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed Hard Feelings quite a bit. I just think the lyrical content on this album is much stronger this time around. The album has some really neat and introspective lyrics. I also think the style found on this album is better suited for this time of the year.

There's Nothing Wrong With Me shows Major League shedding the pop/punk skin and aiming more towards a mature alternative rock sound with emotionally charged lyrics. I'm on board with the changes the band has made and find myself getting into more and more songs from this record. This album is immediate, brooding, and has a nice intensity for this time of a year.