Jason Lancaster Softens Up A Bit but 'As You Are Ain't Mom-Rock

Society always celebrates the records that top the Billboard 200 album chart. Back of The Billboards is a Music Times weekly segment that looks at the opposite end: the new record that finished closest to the back of the Billboard 200 for the previous week. We hope to give a fighting chance to the bands you haven't heard of.

Week of 07/04/2014
WHO: Jason Lancaster
WHAT: As You Are
SPOT: 182

The title of Jason Lancaster's debut solo album, As You Are, is less a statement encouraging the listener to be themselves than a request on behalf of the performer to accept him for what he is. The man who broke in Mayday Parade as its first vocalist and spent six years letting go of steam in Go Radio has now settled down, literally and emotionally, and fans of his previous acts should be ready to deal with it.

If Go Radio can be considered as pop rock by some, Lancaster provides a product that should be considered pop rock by all with his solo output. There's a blend of the beach going acoustic vibes of Jason Mraz, coupled with the relative p[op intensity of Imagin e Dragons in the lyrics. The headliner hasn't gotten quieter, even if his message has gotten safer. "Save Me" is an unapologetic ode to Christianity, but Lancaster keeps it from getting sappy with some Dave Grohl-style howling.

The performer comes this close to escaping any mom-rock references at all, but we're not sure what he's trying to pull off by covering the immortal "Hey Jude" as the outro to his album. If you're going to screw around with the best, you better bring something different. And as all pop rockers look to Paul McCartney as a god (no slight meant to Lancaster's message), this version isn't shook up enough. The rest of As You Are can be listened to guilt-free however.