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One Reason

All Rivers Run South, All Roads Lead Home
2004
Plan-It-X

One Reason - All Rivers Run South, All Roads Lead Home (Cover Artwork)

Review by: AmericanIdle
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Published on August 27th 2004

Listening to this CD makes me scratch my head. This is an interesting record, and one that is hard to put your finger on. You would not be far off if you were to describe One Reason’s sound as Avail-esque Southern punk rock by way of Floridian emo [Hot Water Music, Against Me!]. Not to say that there isn’t a unique touch to every aspect of their music; far from it. The dual throaty male and female vocals certainly add a degree of freshness to this tunage, especially considering that Ginger puts forth some of the most badass female vocals I’ve ever heard without sounding contrived or forced.

What’s very odd is that some of the songs are spot on and amazing [The Black And The Red, Dead End Roads] while other can just feel awkward or boring [Sometimes We Bleed, Bout Time We Give Something A Try]. Everything between these two extremes is also covered. From the punked-up pace of “Legacy of Empty Buildings” to the almost-rambling “Southern Rock Anthems,” this record has a nice musical diversity that helps keep it interesting. The closer, a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “No Surrender” ties the entire package together nicely.

Lyrically this album dances around the theme of the band’s hometown, Cleveland Mississippi. It tackles a wide spectrum of issues, be they personal, social or political [and make no mistake, the three are always overlapping]. The genocide of Native Americans has been tackled in song before, but never as eloquently as “This is our original sin/our eulogy on a bathroom wall/and some movie that we never cried at/about your family dead on the side of the road/no wonder they hate us.” The lyrics are always thought-inducing and paint vivid pictures, although they tend towards the generic end of things on select cuts.

If one thing shines through on this album, it’s that One Reason are an amazing band with the clout to write one of the best and most important punk albums of the past five years. However, this is not that album. This is just a rocking, fun and thoughtful record. It sounds like the band had a good time making this and put energy into these performances, but it’s not mindless by any means. I look forward to checking out their future efforts to see if they produce that life-changing album.

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Posted by CBSrocksteady on 2008-03-14 18:58:39

This liiiiiiffffeeee is what you make itttt!!!!!

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 21, 2004 at 1:46 AM (EST)
My Score:

Mari from the Bananas is hot!

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at 5:03 PM (EDT)
My Score:

this album fucking rocks, and ginger is nice. all you people can hold your own opinions, but what would cause you to say shit like that about her weight? and arguing if shes vegan or not? jesus christ.
~shaw

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at 2:14 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Yo! I'm totally fat and I love the hell out of One Reason. You will cease to talk shit when the fat wall of death annhilates you at the next One Reason show! Skinny mofos ain't got shit when it comes to wall of death-ing!

Seriously, though.... you've gotta be kidding me, little boy. They are some of the sexiest mofos I've ever had the pleasure to watch play music.

xoxo,
.tim of death.

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, September 13, 2004 at 11:40 AM (EDT)
My Score:

I'm Rashaun, and I'm a fat friend of this fat band. Their fat website is http://www.mosquitoinc.org/onereason, and there are fat mp3s there as well. Hott!

This is definitely an odd thing. People trying to apply pop culture standards to music that is so clearly NOT that.

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, September 13, 2004 at 11:36 AM (EDT)
My Score:

If you live in Louisville, this CD is also available at Ear X Tacy, over in the "Locals" section, for some weird reason. If you buy it, i make money off of the consignment. Wheee!

Since i've only roadied for one reason for about six years, i guess i can offer a somewhat outsiders insight to the music that it's become.. . Personally, since before they started the band, i was a fan and always thought everything they put out should have been recognized as much as this latest CD has, but listening through the older CDs i've realized that THIS is the one that should break out. This is the one i let everyone listen to FIRST. It's a cumulation of six years of playing together, traveling together, and living together at times, and that means the razor's edge of music has been sharpened to scalpel status. The switch from Ronny to Greg isn't a setback, it just means the male vocals will be different, but Greg's already got the chops to hold his own against Gg and Lexie.

This CD is the soundtrack to both living in Cleveland, MS and thousands of miles we've clocked under van wheels, meeting, exploring, loving, fighting, and trying.

be excellent to each other,
richrd.

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, September 12, 2004 at 10:35 PM (EDT)
My Score:

ahem i am gingers sister, and i dont even see how you begin to talk about emo, on this message board about their review! lame. im guessing that if you base your desicion of the type of music you listen to on the way someone looks, your favorite band is N'Sync. this album is probaly one of the best things youve ever heard, but your descion to judge on looks more than musical quality, blocks that out of your head.

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, September 12, 2004 at 10:06 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Hey, this is ginger from one reason. I just wanted to point out the fact that lexie and RJ are fat too. haha. So why does it only matter that I'm fat? Just because I am female doesn't mean I exist to please or displease you with my looks. If you are looking for highly attractive people playing music go watch mtv. You'll definately find lots of good looking people and horrible music there if that's your important variable.

The interesting thing about the real punk community that we exist in (and not some anonymous internet bullshit) is that the entire intention (at least among the circle we run in) is to lift up each other regardless of race, class, sex, looks, sexual orientation, blah blah blah. That way a bunch of unattractive fuckers from mississippi can still get the idea that they should try to play music.

It's pretty sureal to find a website where a bunch of people you don't know are discussing whether you are vegan or not.

But anyway, all in all I don't feel like I've been treated too poorly by fate, I've been to 44 states and canada doing music shit and I've got friends in pretty much every one of them.

So what I'm saying is, You've been yellowcarded! I'm kicking you out of punk rock. just kidding of course. One day when you are older and wiser we can sit down over a few beers, and I bet I can beat you at arm wrestling cause under all this fat there's some pretty intense muscle.

Thanks for the fair review Americanidle. It was pretty thorough and I appreciate that. You were nicer to us than I probably would have been.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 1, 2004 at 7:11 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Emo is a real genre and it's french for Lamo!

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 1, 2004 at 7:10 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Yeah Ginger is Vegan, this shows that not all Vegans are skinny. If you want skinny, don't eat. Do you have a problem with fat chicks man? SO do I! I just tell my bitch she can't eat for a couple days. It works fine.

Posted by Dude_Poverty on 2004-09-01 18:29:56
My Score:

go do your homework, little boy

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 1, 2004 at 2:48 PM (EDT)
My Score:

No fat chix!

Posted by Dude_Poverty on 2004-09-01 05:40:46
My Score:

Agreed, this score is for Ginger. What runs through someone's head when they say something like that? I imagine you're just angry because you didn't hear about them first.

Posted by AmericanIdle on 2004-08-31 22:12:11
My Score:

This score is for that "fat chick," who i'm quite sure is vegan.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 31, 2004 at 4:36 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Website sux hard the chick in it is fat and ugly and i don't like bands with ugly chics in them... Score's for the ugly chick... And fat too... Go vegan bitch!

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 31, 2004 at 4:34 PM (EDT)
My Score:

MP3'S? WEBSITES?

Posted by Dude_Poverty on 2004-08-28 20:17:36
My Score:

That review was pretty dead on. Score is for the band, not the album. It's a shame RJ left the band, but Greg Harvester should do nicely.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, August 28, 2004 at 5:45 PM (EDT)
My Score:

good band. good record. good live as well.

Posted by slippy on 2004-08-28 12:10:21
My Score:

I don't think anyone should care about the usage of the word emo since it's not a real genre.

Posted by REALPUNX4LIFE on 2004-08-28 11:39:52
My Score:

I give this record a thumbs up. I think you should've pointed out, though, that the song about Indians was written about a rest stop, otherwise people might not understand that line about bathroom walls. Is it the Trail of Tears rest stop? The record is a couple miles away so I can't check.

The Black and the Red is one of my favorite songs lately.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, August 28, 2004 at 11:35 AM (EDT)
My Score:

I'd consider Against Me! to be acoustic punk, like the Swinging Utters - not folk.

Also - in my experience, post-hardcore and emo are different genres.

I think the confusion between the two goes back to when Texas is the Reason came along and people confused the fact that a bunch of ex-hardcore kids were playing the music with the type of music that they were playing. But that's just a theory.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, August 28, 2004 at 1:55 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Would everyone please shut the fuck up about emu already? I don't give a fuck who or what you think is or isn't emu.

Posted by boldredletters on 2004-08-28 00:34:39
My Score:

emo can be a fucking adjective as well as a genre. ugh. if a band writes a political song from a personal perspective, it could be considered "EMO." that was the original definition. UGH.

Posted by AmericanIdle on 2004-08-28 00:27:03
My Score:

wow, i didnt think a small comparison i [obviously] put no thought into would raise such a stink. i admit, bsd, you are better at life than everyone else and know everything and i am stupid. maybe you should spend less time analyzing everything posted on this site and get outside once in a while :/ just a sugestion.

ps. i was reffering to No Idea-era Against Me, after they were acoustic.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 27, 2004 at 11:44 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Corporate Avenger's "Christians Murdered Indians" is much more eloquent.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 27, 2004 at 8:07 PM (EDT)
My Score:

This score is for people who call anything badly played and acoustic "emo". How are Against Me! emo?

They're folk. Badly played, albeit, but folk. Their songs are more political than about relationships. So, please stop embarressing yourself with your ignorance.

-BSD

PS- Emo IS post-hardcore, fool.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 27, 2004 at 7:53 PM (EDT)
My Score:

This score is for people who call Thursday and Taking Back Sunday emo.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 27, 2004 at 7:34 PM (EDT)
My Score:

yeah I don't know how a band like Againse Me! gets called emo. That word is a fucking curse.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 27, 2004 at 7:33 PM (EDT)
My Score:

This score's for BSD. This is what happens when you confuse post-hardcore with emo - suddenly "emo" is a generic term applied to everything with melody.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 27, 2004 at 7:10 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Against Me! are not fucking emo... Never were. Suck it!

-BSD