Melding influences from the last few decades, you hear a bit of pop, grunge and even hair metal thrown in here making for a varied listen with the amps turned up. "Your Time, My Time" is a solid bit of sugary pop, while "Find Your Way" invades you with a chorus that encompasses you like a gust of wind on a perfect day. "Honest I'll Wait" features a soul searching lyric and a finely tuned vocal that may turn some off, but the zeal pulls you in never wanting to let go even when the song begins its fade out. "Oh My Baby" is a mid-tempo number performed with a hushed ambience amidst some soaring melodies provided by the ringing guitar. "Driving Blind" evokes overriding optimism with a band shooting for the highest heights while "Neverfall" could very well find a home as their main set closer in concert as it pumps the adrenaline with persuasive energy.

Not all of Heavy Crown works for me. "Loaded" has its verses sung through a distortion echo box of sorts and while it's inspired, it falls flat. "Black Angel" ventures into Nickelback territory a bit too much for my liking. However, as I listened to "That's Life", I was impressed with its minimalism and its directness. The song has no musical theatrics, but it's a reminder that sometimes the best rock n' roll is the most simplistic. The title track is a towering ballad featuring a beseeching vocal from Casey (his best on the record) with the band carefully inducing a sense of earnestness from their collective efforts. Ballads live and die depending on how well you can sell it. Aerosmith's "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" works because even though they didn't write it, they dug deep and established empathy. On "Heavy Crown" Casey's vocals and the band's orchestral surging here are feel as good as the sun beaming onto your face on a perfect summer day. When the Lovehammers converge and transport songs like this, they take the listener away from their everyday troubles and in the end; can you fault anyone for that?