Hedley, a dominant player on the Canadian music scene is hoping to break through to the American charts with their (his? Not sure if this is a band or solo artist) latest release “Never Too Late.” In the immortal words of Cher, “if I could turn back time” I certainly would have bailed on writing about this album. Unfortunately for me it is too late, so apparently the title is merely a suggestion rather than a steadfast rule. Hedley sounds similar to just about any pop/guitar driven music that 7th and 8th graders are rocking out to while despising their parents for, “just not understanding.” I guess I would group these (this?) guy(s) into the All-American Rejects category. I actually apologize to the All-American Rejects for that classification, but their genres are similar so that’s what I’m going with.
The album seems to bounce between the bubble gum punky/pop that has worn out its welcome in the music scene and some straight forward pop. Hedley’s bio mentions the song Old School as becoming a fast favorite amongst teenagers for prom and graduation. I suppose that would make sense. There is a sense of nostalgia in the lyrics creating something that many teenage students could relate to. The simplicity of the lyric scheme leaves much to be desired as showcased by such gems as, “Don’t close your eyes or we’ll fade away this time/And we’ll never get back/What we gave away when we still had that fire in our eyes.” That right there is poetic genius and something that a 30 year old man stuck in a crappy hotel room reviewing music driven at 13 year olds needed to hear to get him through. I am rejuvenated and ready. Thank you Hedley! Thank you for providing the soundtrack to pubescent life. I guess if I could turn back time I would be nicer to the people I treated horribly in high school. Not sure if listening to music marketed for teenagers made me realize what a terrible person I once was, but if that’s what it takes to have some reflection I can live with the 80 minutes (40 minute album listened to twice) that I spent listening to Hedley.
If pop tunes on the “alternative rock” radio station are your thing give Hedley a try. While I am sure there are plenty of people who can dig on Hedley (including some outside of Canada) it just isn’t for me. For the remainder of the evening I’m gonna go down in flames, just like Jesse James.
