Critics aren't supposed to like bands such as secondhandheroes (http://www.secondhandheroes.com).
Absent of any avant-garde or truly adventurous moves, secondhandheroes instead opt for slickly polished pop/rock reminiscent of the Calling (do you remember "Wherever You Will Go," the prom anthem of 2001?), Fuel, Lifehouse, and the genesis of contemporary chest-beating FM flavours of the month, Live. Like those groups, secondhandheroes produce easily digestible chunks of highly emotional arena rock that, let's be honest, can be downright addictive when written and performed well.
Call it a guilty pleasure, but I'm not ashamed of throwing my affection to secondhandheroes. If music is to be judged on how catchy the songs are, then nobody should feel bad for liking secondhandheroes. The opener "She Don't Know Me" is solid, crunchy rock. The guitars are loud enough for the boys to pound their heads to but cleanly produced for the girls to savor their melodic qualities. Like most of the tracks on "The Absence in Me," "She Don't Know Me" deals with romantic relationship troubles. None of it is complex or terribly profound; that's not the point. This is music for the masses; sit back and gulp it down. It is quite delicious!
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Vocalist Jonathan Quigley has a big, soaring voice. On "Cutting Away," Quigley's voice explodes out of the headphones. However, he knows when to reel it in unlike Scott Stapp of Creed, who had a bad habit of overreaching. "The Absence in Me" combines blistering rockers (the aforementioned "She Don't Know Me," "Always") with relatively soft moments ("Stay," "Lately"), all made to please large crowds. Derivative? Yes. Mainstream? Of course. But didn't we all say that about Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, too?
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