It's been awhile since I reviewed "Love Song Requiem" by Trading Yesterday. This song, "For You Only", is from the same album. With all the buzz lately (er, in the past… year) about former Evanescence members forming We Are The Fallen, I'd like to walk the path some members took to get there.
So. To start, David Hodges (former keyboardist and co-songwriter for Evanescence) started Trading Yesterday with Mark Colbert in 2003. David Hodges had left Evanescence after Fallen because he was pushing the band into the Christian rock genre, allegedly making Amy Lee (Evanescence's singer) and Ben Moody (the major songwriter that's now part of We Are The Fallen) uncomfortable. The Beauty and the Tragedy was recorded as a demo album, leading to a brief stint with a record label that didn't even produce a full-length album. Then the band went indie again, added some members, went more electronic than acoustic in sound, and changed their name to The Age of Information.
So. As Trading Yesterday, the band had an acoustic sound reminiscent of the early Jars of Clay. "For You Only" is short, slow-paced piano with a "wet" (echo-y) sound, complimenting the guy singing. It's well-melded and soothes me, but I suspect some will find it depressing. If you don't like Enya, you probably want to avoid this song.
David Hodges' vocals again remind me of Jars of Clay. They make me think of an "everyman" voice: it's clear, I think in the same register where the singer would speak. I like it. Not everyone will.
Because "For You Only" is short (slightly over 2 minutes), the lyrics are likewise short. It's an ode to living, being, breathing, "For you only". Since it's a Christian group, the primary "you" is God, but the song could be interpreted for anyone that's your only focus.
I intensely dislike when presumably Christian songs could be speaking of either God or a lover. But this song at least doesn't focus on the intimacy. I still use it on my "fall asleep" playlist.
Overall, worth a listen if you like the early Jars of Clay or Enya or soothing slow-paced minor key songs. (Er, at least I think this is minor key. I'm out of practice with identifying it.)
Lyrics: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 6/10
Check out The Beauty & the Tragedy
