REVIEW: Noah Stone, Love That Smile Off Your Face (World Domination)

- Courtney Muir Wallner

Noah Stone really let loose when he wrote his debut album, Love That Smile off Your Face. An alternate mixture of heavy, brooding lyrics and furious guitar, Love That Smile Off Your Face seems to stem from a personal power struggle with the world. You can feel Stone's metamorphosis, his coming of age, as you listen closely to the obscure, wiry music. This album springs from a reality we all must face, when we begin to see the world for what it really is and not for what we thought it was or should have been. There is a raw openness with which he writes, expressing such obsessive-compulsive behavior found deep within and rarely acknowledged, like the need to possess or own a loved one in "Once Mine". Obsession that rages out of control and the manipulative ways this power is obtained is detailed in "Burn Down the Compound", a song about David Koresh and his need to dominate his following in Waco, Texas. Stone's voice sounds eerily like the Violent Femmes' lead singer, Gordon Gano, only to be contrasted by music that is as agressive as it is loud. There is an energy that flows through Stone that can not be duplicated and which cannot be harnessed. The underlying current of this energy feels critical and demanding at times, remarkably like the cynic who sees the world in all its stark reality and predicts the coming failures, only to feel hateful that his pessimistic predictions are true.

Noah Stone has the courage to express the sentiments of many in a way few would. This personal metamorphosis that has Stone by the grip has years and years to go before it is nearly done, although this type of artistic introversion is rarely finished. The cycle of personal revelation just keeps going and going, which is why Noah Stone looks to have the potential to be around a long time to come.