It’s Alive is a very good band. All four members seem like talented musicians and the songs are well crafted. My seventh-grade self would love them, he would have It’s Alive posters all over his room and spend his lunch singing their songs with friends in the cafeteria. Luckily for me seventh-grade self grew up and current self is severely disappointed in Human Resources, It’s Alive’s debut album.
It’s Alive is a thoroughly modern rock band. Sadly modern rock ceased being modern about ten years ago. It was the era that gave us Linkin Park, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Creed and it would be better for everybody if we just left them in the past (especially Creed). Each of those bands has its influences in Resources. Nearly every song has the synth intros and high-flying choruses that Linkin Park pioneered along with the light rock instrumental breaks that defined the Goo Goo Dolls, but combine that with Creed’s self-important lyrics and general crapitude and you have an album that was designed and desperately wants to be a hit but was released a decade too late.
The just below the cusp of awesome vibe makes Resources all the sadder because It’s Alive IS a good band. The four members can really play. So I am going to give them credit for not going against the grain on their first album. If the group adds a little more originality to their next release they could be bigger than any of their forebears they seem so keen on imitating.
Human Resources was released by Wind-Up Records and is available on iTunes or at your local music store (that means Wal-Mart).
