Hailing from the city of sin, The Higher may have made the biggest one possible with their release “It’s Only Natural.”

A few years ago, the band released “On Fire,” a blend of rock and pop that was able to grab a hold of rock fans despite its heavy, cheesy pop elements.

The band may have lost their rock following with their latest release. “It’s Only Natural” is the band’s turn almost entirely away from rock and into pop. And they failed in their transition, clearly missing elements that former founding band member/guitarist Tom Oakes used to provide. Oakes left the band in 2008.

The album’s best elements is the production and the hooks. The lyrics are poor and their occasional guitar solo only reminds listeners of what they used to be and what they are now.

The album starts off covering Neyo’s “Closer” and then shifts into the album’s title track “It’s Only Natural.” The song is poppy and simple, having the beats lead the way rather than the guitar.

The title track is a microcosm of the entire record really. Lyrics such as “Every second is electric, like 1,000 volts” and “you keep shaking me up just like an earthquake” show there is nothing deep here but just simple pop lyrics.

The album’s best track lies in “Undertaker.” It’s the best song at what they were trying to do with the pop transition. The song focuses on being young and living in Las Vegas.

The problem with The Higher is they seemed to have come up short in what they were trying to obtain overall. The Cab does the whole rock band doing pop music better and if someone really wants to listen to good pop music they can just turn on Justin Timberlake.

There is nothing terrible about the record, but it offers nothing that has been offered before.

However, because it can grab your attention and has some good hooks they have a slight chance to get some form of fame from the mainstream if they catch a lucky break.

It’s an album that will not go over well with hardcore music fans but can see some success in Top 40 type listeners.

Two out of five stars.

studentlife@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Tim Ottusch