Turn It Up - Shannon Noll

Shannon Noll is one Australian Idol finalist who has certainly excelled himself. His new album Turn it Up is full of strong, guitar-driven songs. This is strong rock, but it is not testosterone-fuelled like much of this genre can be.

In this album, Noll has chosen to explore themes of love and loss, reflecting often on the breakdown of relationships. This gives the album a somewhat melancholic feel at times; however the album is saved from becoming bleak by the full sound of many of the songs. Unlike his fellow Australian Idol contestant Damien Leith, Noll does not favour a pared-back approach to music.

Noll has examined human nature at its best and worst, and has established himself as an insightful songwriter and performer (recent drunken performances at the CMC Rocks the Snowy concert at Thredbo not withstanding). The song ‘Everybody Needs a Little Help’ is a case in point.

“Cause everybody needs a little help sometimes…You’re only human, nobody’s perfect, you just got to realise it” says the chorus. Noll has hit the nail right on the head here when he says that no-one is perfect and that we all need help from someone. As humans we are decidedly imperfect. We all need the help of someone more powerful than us, namely God.

While many of the songs on the album contain allusions such as this to humanity’s need for God, there are also many references to trying to do things your own way.

The ballad ‘Is You’ presents itself as a declaration of undying love and adoration. The line “All I am is you, it’s all I want to be and all I crave is you” may seem at the outset to be a romantic (if not completely healthy) sentiment. However, to be so completely absorbed in something or someone that it takes over your life means that there is no room for God. An outlook such as this can only result in heartbreak and, ultimately, death.

This paradox is evident throughout Noll’s album. On the one hand, in “Is You” he sings about being completely absorbed by a person, longing to have them as his whole life.  In “Loud”, he sings about how “Something so right could never be wrong”, again promoting the common worldview that if something feels good (and is within the bounds of law) then it is right. On the other hand, he sings that everyone needs help, that no-one can get through this life by themselves.

It is this that makes Noll’s album confusing. While the themes he has explored are worth the looking at, it seems that he has ended the album more confused than when he started. While this is a solid and surprisingly enjoyable effort from Noll, it would be nice to see him explore some of his earlier themes (such as in ‘Everybody Needs a Little Help’) more in his next album.

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