Two weeks ago I introduced Fiction 20 Down, an acoustic rock band from Bel Air, Maryland. They released their second album, Welcome to the Grassroots, in 2008. The record is produced by the band’s frontman Jordan Lally. I’d say it is well-produced for an independent release; the album is a pleasure to listen to.

One thing I often ask about albums is whether they are truly more than just a collection of songs. Of course, if I say some album is just a collection of songs, it probably tells more about me not being able to find the story within than about the album itself. Let’s see how this one develops.

The album starts with the percussion and bass riffs of Declaration of the Grassroots, a song where the title of the album comes from. The lyrics are about the message the bands wants to spread. What follows are three catchy songs in the style of f20d: Gossip & Gunplay, Stoke the Fire and Wake Up.

The next two – Abraham and the Aftermath and UpRise and Shine – are the most intriguing songs on the album to me. Both of the songs are build around groovy bass lines and percussion, accompanied by guitar riffs. Next up is a very warm-sounding song Brother (As You Were). Jordan Lally’s vocals sound great and are well-audible on this one.

Some of the band members list Jack Johnson as their favorite current artist. If you compare Fiction 20 Down to Jack Johnson, there’s one big difference. F20d is a band with a richer sound in their music, while Jack is a strong singer-songwriter and the music is just serving the song. I believe what has made Jack so popular is largely his ability to make his warm and relaxed persona part of his music. This is much harder for a band to do.

The song with the strongest lyrics on the album is Conclusions. It is also musically a good one and definitely one of my favorites on the record. The melody somehow makes me think of O.A.R. These two bands may sound pretty similar at first listen, but listening more to f20d makes it clear that they are no imitation of O.A.R. The next song, Your Energy, is a quieter one and likewise a little different from most of the album. The last song, Wind Me Down, is such an addictive one and ends the album in a nice manner.

This is what I think after some listening. I recommend you take a listen yourself to see if you like it. As I wrote two weeks ago, some of the songs off the album are available as MP3 downloads from Fiction 20 Down’s promo page with the code glimmer01. To buy the album, check out Fiction 20 Down Store.

As I’m writing this, the temperature outside is -15 degrees Celsius (that’s 5 degrees Fahrenheit). I feel it’s not the best kind of weather for music like this. The best conditions to listen to this record I can picture would be chilling out on a warm summer night. It’s obviously going to take some time before I can see if that’s true.