In the Red frontman Mike Hale recently made the decision to be a musician full-time and he's been very busy at work considering that his solo record, Lives Like Mine, was recorded only two weeks after In the Red's second album was released. One would think that the album may have been rushed and the quality of the songs may have been effected but that is certainly not the case here as Hale's songwriting skills really blossom on Lives Like Mine.
Lives Like Mine shows a deeper, stripped down version of Mike Hale as most songs only feature his voice and an acoustic guitar, with an accompanying piano on a few tracks. He uses these instruments to give Lives Like Mine a very depressing vibe. It's a very dark and melancholy record with most of the lyrics dealing with love loss and pain. What really makes it great is how well most of these songs are written and how Hale makes his lyrics not sound cliche at all. The deep, yet brutally honest and sincere tone to his voice adds to the vibe, as well. The beautiful piano-driven ballad "For That Working Hour" is the main highlight as he croons "Or wait see how, how stronger I am now, it took so long to stand on my own..." in the chorus so desperately that you can almost feel his pain and heartbreak. The following track "If You Want to Know" attempts to pick up the mood a little bit with it's handclapping and upbeat rhythm but lyrics like "I've burned your pictures and broken records, I'm setting boundaries. When is tomorrow coming?" can bring down the mood of it a little. Not that it's a bad thing as Lives Like Mine is meant to be a sad record and those who are down and looking for someone who feels their pain, will love this album. Mike Hale also enlisted the help of Allyson Seconds (wife of Kevin Seconds) to provide backing vocals to help compliment the songs and her contribution on the songs "When She Loved Me" and the title-track are what makes those songs. They add a ghostly but nice touch to those songs to make them even better.
This is a record for the heartbroken, the hurt and the lonely. If you're not any one of those, then this record is just something to listen to on a lonely night for those who are feeling down. Mike Hale obviously put his heart and soul into Lives Like Mine and it shows as it's one of the most heartfelt records to come out of this year, so far.
