Reviews

Resolve. To make a firm decision about. To change or convert. To bring about a successful conclusion. That’s what Webster says, at least. For this band, it’s to answer questions, to explore pain and misunderstanding and find reason in it. This is the ninth full length album (don’t quote me on that) from Lagwagon. Of course there are a million bands that sound like Lagwagon, this sound has been mixed and mastered countless numbers of times. Who hasn’t been in a pop punk band? But who has been delivering those sounds better than Lagwagon for all these years? Not too many of us.
 
Raise your hand if you know someone or know of someone who committed suicide. If you like this band, your hand is in the air right now. On March 30th, 2005, original Lagwagon drummer Derrick Plourde shot and killed himself leaving questions unanswered and wounds wide open. The lyrics on this album are very much an exploration of that. I’m not afraid to admit that they brought tears to my eyes. Lagwagon put their hearts out there on this one, musically and lyrically. This is a record propelled by emotions and a very serious drive to seek resolution.
 
The album’s opening track, “Heartbreaking Music,” features the words “I’ve already come to terms with bridges I have burned/We all make mistakes/Keep preparing for the worst” and “I wish I were as smart as you/I could have changed your mind/The question ‘till I die.” The title track, “Resolve” features lyrics like “This grief wills everyone/All I have is our shitty song/How could it ever be enough?/Here we are in our final accord/A mortician and his tools sonically bury you/You could have chosen another chord to resolve on.”
 
Instrumentally, Lagwagon take a darker approach to songwriting, with a little bit less upbeat punk rock and a little bit more metal-eqsue guitar part.  It’s nothing drastic though, and unless you really listen closely it’s very much like other Lagwagon albums.  This record couldn’t have been easy to make, and although it’s far from perfect, the story behind it and the meaning it represents makes up for it all.
 
I’m going to leave you with the words off the last song on Lagwagon’s requiem for Derrick, “Days of New.” “I’m not getting over you. I’m sorry for exposing you, I know you hate it when I do. But I had to write one for my better half.  My life has changed, it’s obvious. It’s all been said in cheesy poems and chick flicks, the mushy shit that people say. I’ll never forget the words that you said, the life that you lead. I’ll never forget. I’ll never forget.