Building 429

Building 429 present something of a dichotomy—on one hand, lead singer/songwriter Jason Roy’s raspy, confident vocals have belted out some of the stronger pop hooks in Christian radio; on the other, his group has never exactly had an easy ride with critics who pretty much tore their first two albums apart—the first, a fairly sappy affair, and the second, a grunge-lite work that was a lot of fun but completely unoriginal—and met their most recent effort, Iris to Iris (a worship album), with a resounding “meh…” Their brand of pop/rock isn’t for the cynical, and that has a tendency to lose most critics right off the bat.

It’s true: for all the junk that slides across the desks of most music writers, it’s not hard to understand that “light and inoffensive” usually fails to get our attention spans long enough to warrant more than a couple shrugs and a hastily-penned mediocre review. It’s not necessarily the fault of 429 themselves; what they do, they do well regardless of trends or fads or grumpy nay-sayers—namely, they operate an assembly line of strong pop melodies and fun production design that has lasted far longer than many predicted.

Think of this self-titled effort as a point where Roy and crew attempt to create a cohesive sound from the mishmash of stylistic variations they’ve exhibited since the start of their career. Tracks like “End of Me” and “Overcome” taste strongly of 429’s signature hit “Glory Defined”: toned-down rock distortion and a sing-along chorus that breaks down twice before segueing into a bridge and predictable climax. Both are top contenders for chart success, although “End of Me” is the stronger of the two.

“Erase,” which is one of my favorite tracks on the album, harkens back to the days of “Searching for a Savior” and “Fighting to Survive”—thankfully, though, there’s a marked maturity on the progression of the whole piece. The hook itself is everything it needs to be: a strong melody juxtaposed against grunge-lite distortion without the whiny sentiments of Nickelback and a surprisingly effective symphonic touch with strings turned up to the forefront of the mix. The lyrics themselves aren’t as memorable as the music, but Roy successfully walks the line between simplicity and inanity. Nice work.

Slow-burner “Always” is definitely the band’s magnum opus: an honest look at loss in the face of a loving savior. The lyrics sting with the poignancy of the story they carry and, from my own perspective of a person of cynicism, Roy’s fragility sells the pitch without any hang-ups. If you know someone emotionally distressed, this is the kind of simple honesty that admits a lack of solid answers but rests safely in the hands of the Father. It’s perfect: a simple acoustic ballad that explodes in a volley of percussion and strings at its finale.

“Shoulder” suggests the kind of vibe Kid Rock failed to achieve with his embarrassing southern rocker “All Summer Long” (currently being annoyingly overplayed on a local radio station near you!). In this case, however, the down-home twang grants the lyricism some actual poignancy and the chorus is just so catchy, it’s hard to be too picky about where Roy and crew got their influences.

Building 429 isn’t about pushing the boundaries of artistic acceptability, but it is a strong testament to the notable amount of growth in a band many predicted would fall by the wayside after a couple CDs. What’s more inspiring is how these creative underdogs have managed to become a staple in the industry—a band to which many, if not most, up-and-coming pop/rock acts are now compared. Every step they take artistically is loaded with memorable hooks, honest-if-straight-forward lyricism, and pristine production. Face it folks, Building 429 is here to stay. Forget the future—the present is pretty bright for this trio.

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