Some will see it as “playing safe”.

Others will see it as “standing firm”.

Either way, we don’t really blame Daughtry for basing second album Leave This Town around the same template which catapulted their strong debut LP into the upper echeolons of the Billboard 200 some three years ago.

Interestingly, this is the first Daughtry album to be written as a a five-piece collective.

Their stellar debut was originally a Chris Daughtry solo project, with the formation of the band coming after completion of the record itself, but this time around we see songwriting contributions from every single member of the band.

That being said, it is the frontman who inevitably takes center stage thanks to his ability to pen songs which sound like they were destined for radio, and his tortured vocals make him instantly more relatable than post-grunge rivals like Nickelback, Chevelle, Staind, et al.

“We’ve tried to make it known that this isn’t just me. I’ve never considered myself a solo artist. When the band doesn’t get the credit they deserve it kinda bums me out a little bit, because they’re working just as hard as me.”

– Chris Daughtry

Opener You Don’t Belong stands tall as a prime example of how effective this five-piece can be when firing on all cylinders.

It manages to drill deeper into the heavy-as-fuck sound of their debut and, while perhaps lacking the overall catchiness of Crashed and It’s Not Over, still possesses a filthy bassline and thunderous drum beat which do enough damage to leave a lasting impression.

Elsewhere, it’s palpably audible that Daughtry have decided to tone down the angsty sound of their debut LP in order to make themselves more commercially viable on this record.

This is by no means a bad thing, because there’s clearly an audience for the type of chorus-heavy rock which they are so good at delivering, as demonstrated on standout tracks like Every Time You Turn Around, No Surprise, and Ghost Of Me.

Indeed, when we consider the recent success of albums for the likes of Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, and AC/DC, in addition to the collapse of the nu-metal scene, it could well be that Daughtry represent “the choice of a new generation” if we do witness a fully-fledged resurgence in mainstream rock.

The preparations for this LP were said to be exhaustive.

Chris Daughtry and co. entered the studio with a whopping 70 songs (!), before whittling them down to a selection of 10-20.

The recording sessions yielded a few interesting songwriting collaborations with the likes of Chad Kroeger (Nickelback), Richard Marx, Ryan Tedder (One Republic), and Adam Gontier (Three Days Grace). However, most of these tracks failed to make the final cut, instead finding a home on the bonus edition (Leave This Town: The B-Sides) which was released the following year.

“Of all the things I still remember,
Summer’s never looked the same.”

SEPTEMBER

Nothing is perfect, of course, so whie there’s no denying Daughtry’s skill for penning singalong acoustic numbers, one major criticism is that the sheer number of them (9 of the album’s 14 songs) inadvertently dilutes their effectiveness.

Perhaps this was a deliberate attempt by the band and/or record label to capitalize on the success of uber-single Home, but we must concur that there’s only so many times your heartstrings can be tugged and your guts can be wrenched before it starts to lose it’s impact.

A smarter choice would’ve been to keep the acoustic work down to a minimum and utilize some of the uptempo material which was featured on the aforementioned B-sides collection, like the electric Traffic Light, in order to guarantee maximum impact for standout ballads like the super-catchy Superman and the lyrically devastating Open Your Eyes.

“But as they laid him in the ground,
Her heart would sing without a sound.”

OPEN YOUR EYES

Ultimately, Leave This Town succeeds in establishing Daughtry as a legitimate rock band.

It may lack the heavy crunch of it’s predecessor, but there’s still more than enough quality here to suggest that Daughtry will continue to be a force in the rock landscape over coming years, as we fully expect that several years from now we’ll report that Chris Daughtry is widely recognized as one of American Idol’s most successful alumni.

The album’s lead single No Surprise peaked at #15 of the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the band’s biggest hits to date. This was quickly followed-up with Life After You which peaked at #36 (and spent an impressive 62 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Rock Digital Songs chart), and final single September marked the ninth Daughtry track to land on the Billboard Hot 100, also peaking at #36.

In summary:

Daughtry stick to the same template which brought them huge success on their barnstorming debut LP, but that’s by no means a bad thing. There are enough big hooks and enough songwriting heft here to suggest that this band will become a real force in years to come.

Leave This Town receives 7/11.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★