2

Tweet

The Show’s Still Going for Hedley

Getting booted off of the second season of Canadian Idol may well have been the best thing that happened to Jacob Hoggard. His exposure to the music industry and to the Canadian population from his participation on Idol gave Hoggard a jump-start on his musical career, and this experience was undoubtedly beneficial. Hoggard’s band Hedley continues to overshadow any level of success that Season 2 winner Kalan Porter enjoyed. Hoggard and the other members of Hedley remain the front-runners in Canadian pop-rock and have received multiple Juno nominations over the years as well as a pair of platinum records. Not bad for a guy who only entered Idol for a bet.

The release of Hedley’s third record in November 2009, however, begs the question of whether or not the band would have really needed Idol to make a name for itself. Out of all Idol winners and runner-ups, Hoggard is the only one who has managed to obtain any level of longevity in the industry. Idol or no, the talent within the band would have enabled Hedley to eventually make their way onto the scene. The quality of Hedley’s new album, The Show Must Go, demonstrates the band’s ever-increasing maturity and knowledge about the industry into which they were so quickly thrust a mere four and a half years ago.

The first single off of the album, Cha-Ching, is a mocking but insightful analogy of a culture obsessed with MTV, movie stars and money. “The All-American Dream,” sings Hoggart during the bridge, “is so skin-deep.”

The rest of The Show Must Go is quite a stretch from Hedley’s previous release. The tone on Famous Last Words, saving Been There Done That and Never Too Late, was negative and even snarky at times. The boys seemed to enjoy crooning about the pain of past relationships and heartbreak rather than sing about the good times. As accessible as these sorts of lyrics were to younger fans especially, Famous Last Words was a touch too angsty to be really enjoyable.

On the other hand, The Show Must Go features some refreshingly light-hearted tracks such as Shelter and Friends that instantly improve the listener’s mood.

Musically, this release is a welcome mixed bag of rhythms. The pleading and penitent Perfect is centred upon a soft piano lick that effectively conveys Hoggard’s emotions. The acoustic simplicity in Sweater Song, followed by its triumphant bridge and final guitar solo, is what makes this irresistibly cute tale of young love so appealing.

Although The Show Must Go displays an impressive level of lyrical growth and an optimism that was rarely present on Famous Last Words, these BC boys are far from completely grown up. Don’t Talk to Strangers and 9 Shades of Red are pure party tracks about cougar chasing and nights on the town. In Young and Stupid, Hoggard stresses the importance of seizing the day and following your heart. “At least we did it our way,” he states.

And their way is certainly working for Hedley.