It was just a matter of time before some pop/punk visionary caught the Pete Townshend virus and wanted to tell an elaborately detailed story across an entire album. Based on their 2003 debut, The Room’s Too Cold, and the electric/acoustic versions of the For All of This EP, not many people would have guessed that it would be the Early November to execute this ambitious concept. Even more surprising, frontman Ace Enders has conceived his musical tale across a diverse and sprawling three disc package. In a nutshell, The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path tells the story of a young man who rebels against his repressive father, runs away with his girlfriend, becomes a father himself, vows to make a better life and be a better father and ends up trying to mold his rebellious son just as his father had done with him. It’s an age-old story; anyone with kids knows that you ultimately become your parents in very tangible ways. So you have a relatively familiar plotline turned into a three album rock opera - there’s a stereotyped recipe for disaster. Luckily, Enders and the rest of Early November (guitarists Joe Marro and Bill Lugg, bassist Sergio Anello, drummer Jeff Kummer) tell the tale with a great deal of subtlety and diversity. The Mechanic, the set’s first disc, sets the stage by introducing the characters and thematic elements within the context of Early November’s pop/punk sound, while The Mother furthers the story in a gentler rootsy acoustic/electric, almost folk/country vein and The Path completes the trilogy as a legitimate soundtrack with characters from the first two discs actually delivering narration and dialogue amongst the musical interludes (headphones are recommended). Early November has successfully executed their fascinating concept of an oft-told tale; here’s hoping that their hyper caffeinated fan base can lay off the double espressos long enough to sit still through the whole passion play.
~ Brian Baker
Release date: July 11, 2006
Buy Album from CD Universe
