This review did not turn out the way it was supposed to. It was supposed to be a simple article in which Lifehouse's debut release, No Name Face, receives a lackluster review for seeming to follow in the footsteps of the likes of the overplayed Creed. But it did not work out that way.

In actuality, this disc is very good, and doesn't cause the same cringing one associates with having to hear yet another Creed track.

Lifehouse begins to achieve the seemingly impossible feat of standing out amidst the music that is produced in bulk these days.

Let's begin with a word about what this disc is not. No Name Face is not the kind of album that once it has been purchased, the buyer soon realizes that just about the only good thing about it is its radio-friendly single, in this case, "Hanging by a Moment." Instead, these 12 tracks offer consistently good music and lyrics. Buyer's remorse does not come along with this purchase.

So who and what is Lifehouse anyway? Lifehouse is a young, twenty-something, Los Angeles-based group that lived its music — and character — building past in a California garage. The band's style could be described as diet-rock, all the taste, but without all the calories.

Fans will be hard-pressed to find reviews of the band lacking a comment about frontman, Jason Wade. First of all, he could quite easily land a day job as a model, and more importantly, because he has a wonderfully deep and raspy voice that is reminiscent of many others, yet distinctly his own. His voice fits emotions of the lyrics all the better because he writes them himself.

No Name Face opens with the familiar track, "Hanging by a Moment," which found itself in the no. 1 position on Billboard's Modern Rock only 10 weeks after the album's release. The following 11 tracks continue down the same path.

There are, however, some rest stops along the way as the band slows down for some more melodic tracks such as "Trying" and the soon to be a hit, "Breathing."

The depth and greatness of Wade's voice are well featured in these slower tracks, as are his lyrics, which welcome interpretation and offer up a connection between listener and author: "I am waiting for tonight/ Then waiting for tomorrow/ And I am somewhere in between what is real and just a dream/ Would you catch me if I fall out of what I fell in."

So when all is said and done, Lifehouse's freshman offering is not what it appears to be. It is a pleasant surprise and a smart investment. We can only hope to hear more that continues to separate this group from todays' ever-growing mass of one-hit wonders.

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