Jonathan Bannon Maher - The Fallout of Love

Jonathan Bannon Maher

The Fallout of Love
self-released; 2015

3.0 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Jonathan Bannon Maher is somewhat of a Renaissance man. He started a Senate campaign in 2012, wrote a book entitled “The Destiny Of Humanity” and recently released a single entitled “The Fallout of Love.” I knew when I saw a picture of him with his hands in his pockets, standing there in a suit that I was in for cookie-cutter mainstream pop.

My initial reaction was correct. Maher’s single is a radio ready mainstream song that sounds eerily similar to every other Goo Goo Dolls song and all the carbon copies bands that sound like them.

The song is predictable, displays little originality and lyrically doesn’t get past surface level clichés. It combines acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums and orchestral elements. He sings, “The days each wash away and all these dreams feel so empty when you don’t believe.”

“The Fallout of Love” could be embraced by people who haven’t listened to anything else besides FM radio but in all honesty it’s not going to resonate with people who have dug deeper into the chasm of what music offers and appreciate it.

“The Fallout of Love” is the antithesis of punk and most independent music in general. Maher is simply following the most mainstream of trends that was popular over a decade ago. It’s obvious that Maher is oblivious to the undercurrent of quality/innovative music that is being created right now. I’m sure bands like Oneohtrix Point Never, Broken Social Scene, No Age, The War On Drugs, Brian Eno and Aphex Twin are nowhere on his radar - if they were I’d be shocked.

It’s really hard to pull off being a reputable musician if you aren’t dedicating yourself to it full time. One look at Maher’s Facebook page shows that he prefers to post news links about politics and global events yet mentioned nothing about the Sleater-Kinney release. I appreciate the motor Maher has but my point is that a portion of the music community will question his authenticity if he doesn’t have his finger on the pulse.

If you are sick of all your Goo Goo Dolls albums but want more of the same then “The Fallout Of Love” will be the song you have been looking for.

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