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JFH Music Review




My Rocket Heart
Hang Ups and Let Downs



Album length: 11 tracks: 40 minutes, 31 seconds
Street Date: November, 2005


When it comes to unsigned bands, making a gusty move in recording or producing an album can either bring forth a surprisingly professional-sounding album, or it can spell disaster.

Stemming from the state of Florida, indie rock band My Rocket Heart pulled a feat that few bands would even dare cross because of its risk factor, they recorded an entire project in just a day's time. Their primary purpose in doing this was to create an album that reflected the intensity of their live performances. An imposing question could be "does this cause any damaging effects to the band as a whole?"

The band's latest release Hang Ups and Let Downs begins with an acoustic, pop/rock number entitled "All the Same," which is about the unchanging patterns and motions of this world. A few songs focus on the issue of relationships, as expressed in the ballad "Chelsea Jane" and the slight Bleach-esque "She," which appear to be love songs to a significant other, but without clarifying whether or not they pertain to any of the members in the band. Songs like "Jesus" and "Broken Again" fortunately contain spiritually-based lyrics that are layered over a combination of synth pop guitars and melodic drum rhythms. The majority of Hang Ups and Let Downs contains a lot of the same (and sometimes repetitive) musical elements along with occasional memorable lyrical content. As already mentioned, the fact that the majority of this album was recorded in one day causes it to suffer greatly in overall production value and unfortunately falls short of capturing the intensity of a live performance.

Overall, it's very difficult to compare My Rocket Heart to bands that perform music of their same genre. Though they're a few steps behind bands like One Minute Halo and TomorrowToday (whose EP was produced by Pillar producer Travis Wyrick), MRH should be given credit for what they tried to accomplish, even though their project should have been given a longer time to develop and complete. However, if indie pop/rock is a genre that easily piques your interest and you tend to enjoy a raw and sometimes under-polished effort, then Hang Ups and Let Downs might be the album for you.

- Review date: 12/26/05, written by Paul Portell



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. Record Label: None
. Album length: 11 tracks: 40 minutes, 31 seconds
. Street Date: November, 2005
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. All the Same
  2. Save Me
  3. She
  4. 42nd Street
  5. Chelsea Jane
  6. Jesus
  7. Girl Sittin' Next to Me
  8. Cold December Day
  9. Broken Again
  10. Your Ears, My Diary
  11. Move On

 

 

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This Friday, November 14, 2025
ALBUMS
Bethel Music We Must Respond (Deluxe) [Bethel]
Emery White Line Fever (Remastered) - Disc One (independent)
FYR FYTR Snow After Fire - EP (independent)
HolyName Three Bar Cross - EP (independent)
Jake and Mates Songs of Deliverance (independent)
JERICKO Ups and Downs - EP [Syntax]
Kings Kaleidoscope Asaph's Arrows II EP [BEC]
VIC LUCAS The Journey (Deluxe Version) [Syntax]
Ronnie Martin Evergreen Melodie [Velvet Blue]
NF FEAR - EP [Capitol]
Blessing Offor To All A Good Night [Capitol CMG]
Rave Jesus I MET GOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR [Provident]
Kristian Stanfill Come to Jesus [sixstepsrecords]
We Are Messengers Rejoice! (A Celtic Christmas) [Curb]
The Young Escape Not Done Yet [BEC]

SINGLES
ADRIEL CRUZ & JAMIL Praying For My Enemies - Single [Syntax]
BILL B. My Lord - Single [Syntax]
Biscuits Drifting Off (Hayloft) - Single [Circle Back]
Holly Brand Tennessee Christmas (feat. Warren Peay) - Single [Integrity]
Leanna Crawford Still Waters (Strings & Choir Version) - Single [Provident]
Melvin Crispell III, Jason Clayborn Whatever It Is - Single [Tyscot]
CUTRIGHT, ZIPPY, & QEW Pick it Up - Single [Syntax]
DRENAE Like U Do - Single [Syntax]
Eighteen Mile What Mercy Means - Single [Mountain Home Music]
His Kingdom Suffers There's No Light In This House - Single [Charon Collective]
KNALADEUS, SELAH THE CORNER, & AYO SHAMIR Let it Be (ft. JOSEPH SD) - Single [Syntax]
LEXLY NIRVANA Perdoname - Single [Syntax]
Richard Lynch Why Me Lord - Single [MTS]
Jamie MacDonald My Family - Single [Capitol CMG]
NEEDTOBREATHE Where You Call Home - Single [Omnivore]
Hunter Plake Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Single [BEC]
Skillet O Come, O Come Emmanuel - Single [Hear It Loud]

Next Sunday, November 16, 2025
ALBUMS
Bir Witness 26.13 (independent)

Next Thursday, November 20, 2025
SINGLES
The Rocky Valentines Happy Thanksgiving - Double Single [Velvet Blue]

Next Friday, November 21, 2025
ALBUMS
Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, Ellie Holcomb I'll Be Home for Christmas - EP [Magnolia]
Joseph Habedank The Great Adventure: A Tribute to Steven Curtis Chapman [Daywind]
Andrew Marcus Christmas - EP (independent)
Stryper The Greatest Gift Of All [Frontiers]

SINGLES
Cliff & Antoinette Murray Happy Thanksgiving - Single [DREAM]
Good Weather Forecast Little Christmas - Single [DREAM]
Jake MacAdam, Mark & Sarah Tillman Christ Has Come - Single [Ocean House]
Life.Church Worship A Thousand Blessings - Single [Ocean House]
Seph Schlueter Cling To The Cross (feat. Matt Maher) - Single [sixsteps]

VINYL
Stryper The Greatest Gift Of All Vinyl [Girder]


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