Your passion for what is clearly one of your favorite bands is admirable. That’s why bands make music: for their fans. But your argument and your logic are incomplete.

You can’t critique John’s effort without taking a look at your own. What makes you qualified to be a critic of his opinion? Where is your expertise and knowledge of the music world which makes your opinion superior to John’s? What gives you the right to belittle his opinion because it does not agree with your own? As a reviewer, John has the luxury of being able to be objective about the quality of this product, whereas you, the fan, do not have this luxury, so for you to blast his viewpoint is short-sighted and ifnorant.

Also, let’s take your point about John not understanding the movtives, etc. behind why the band chose to make the album they did. Motives are fine. Everyone should have them. But just because you have a reason for making an album a certain way, that does not automatically make it a worthwhile record by itself. There has to be execution, there has to be originality. And if John did not hear these things when he reviewed the album, then he cannot very well just give the album great marks because it aimed high. You still have to hit your intended target, and in John’s opinion, this album did not do that.

I appreciate your feelings for this album and for this band, but perhaps you need to read the review all the way through and note the part of the review where John says that he is not simply trying to brush these guys off. He’s not bashing them. Sometimes albums just don’t work and if that’s a reviewer’s opinion then they have to share that with the readers.

Would love to see Disappear and/or “Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights)” catch fire at radio outlets.

I’m pleased that you feel passionately about music, particularly this band. I’m sure they’ve worked very hard, but this album is unimpressive.

I’m sorry if you think that is “bashing the band” but such is not the case– what it is is the critique of an album that sounds heavily borrowed from other albums, bands. Therefore, I can’t rate it HIGH, not because I hate the band, but because only CDs that I feel are GOOD get a HIGH rating.

This is a highly subjective process, but I can say that, in my capacity as someone who has heard a ton of music, this isn’t a very original/exciting CD.

If you disagree, and apparently you do, then cool.

But asking me what makes me a music critic is something of a silly question. It’s a silly question because music is made for the people– folks like you and me. We may have different tastes, but we all know what we like and what we don’t like and WHY. And the truth is, I thought this CD was boring and predictable.

Hope this clears it up. If not, enjoy the CD anyway. I stand by my review.

Another winner.