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Title: More mainstream, still really good
Review: It sounds like Jon Crosby got the Christian theme out of his system on the debut. I kinda miss it on "Music for People," but that's just me. Most of the first album's strengths carry into the new one, but the sound has moved from Nine Inch Enigma to more uptempo, Beatlesque power pop. The drums are pulled back, the strings play a bigger role than before, and the industrial angst gives way to more radio-friendly tunes. It happens: the passion and urgency driving a band's first release kind of subside when they become more established and have some breathing room. I just hope Crosby didn't change his approach for the critics who panned the first album as "marijuana-induced" and "pretentious." "Music for People" is smooth and catchy, but I liked his crisis-of-faith mode a little more. Oh yeah, Ryan Policky nailed it - skip "The Gates of Rock 'N Roll" and you'll be alright.
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