Hanging On By A Thread (by The Letter Black)

1 people like this

Artist: The Letter Black
Album: Hanging On By A Thread
Label: BEC Recordings
To Be Released: March 30, 2010

Review

The Letter Black is back and this time with a full album. The band signed with Tooth & Nail in 2009 and released, Breaking The Silence, their first EP which was titled after the band’s old name. Hanging On By A Thread carries the same sound of their EP, which is a mix of 1990’s rock and modern rock. There are also 3 songs (Moving On, Hanging By A Thread, and Best of Me) that were on the Breaking The Silent which are also on Hanging By A Thread.

The album opens up with “Fire With Fire”, a song with a lot of energy that indicates what you will be listening throughout the whole album. I enjoy Sarah Anthony’s vocals but they can be squeaky at times when she sings higher notes. It get’s a little annoying after a while. “Fire With Fire” also has Mark Anthony on back vocals which gives some variance to the song, but not enough to stand out from other bands. “Invisible” comes next and follows the same flow, nothing new or too exciting here. “Hanging On By A Thread” is one of the most appealing songs on this album and it’s probably what the band will be pushing on radio stations. It’s both Christian and mainstream radio friendly. The only thing that leaves you hanging on this song are the lyrics… they are so cliche… “Save me from losing myself I’m hanging on by a thread…. so I’m holding on to you… no I won’t let go.” Next on the list is “Believe” which is oddly good. It starts a little slower, and it grows louder towards the chorus. Mark Anthony’s vocals really contribute to the chorus on this song and also on “My Disease”.
It almost feels like the band wrote Hanging On By A Thread then picked the best songs from it and made an EP called Breaking The Silence out if it. I say that because there are a lot of songs that don’t contribute to the overall listening experience, they go unnoticed. Songs such as “I’m Just Fine”, “All I want”, and “Care Too Much” are lost on this album. Perhaps the songs that are most appealing are the songs that are too pop-like to be on this rock album, for instance “Best Of Me” and “More To This”. Now if you’re looking for rock, than you should skip down to “Wounded” the last song on this record. Here you will actually get to hear Sarah screaming and once again Mark’s back vocals are excellent, and more constant.

Needless to say I’m a bit disappointed with Hanging On By A Thread and it’s mostly because of it’s lack of originality. And while I wouldn’t invest my money on the whole album I wouldn’t discard all of the songs either. There some songs such as “Wounded”, “Best of Me”, and “Believe” that are definitely worth spending your money on. The bottom line is… if you have heard (and liked it) other bands like Fireflight, you will enjoy this because it sounds a lot like it. But if you are looking for new and exciting music, then you might want skip this one.

*Hanging On By A Thread (by The Letter Black) was added on January 8th, 2010

Reviewed by Dan
Daniel is a music lover, a designer and web developer. He current resides in Philly, but he is always on the move.