The Sweet Spot of Novelty and Familiarity

Raging at the flaws of the world is a habit that’s easy to build. Many people even see it as a trait to be proud of. The world will always be full of bitter people raging at it for its problems and woes, but Michael Franti’s not adding to the resentment, he’s rescuing others with an attitude that says “I will do more good than harm.”

Sneering simply isn’t Michael Franti’s default conduct. On his new album, Stay Human Vol. II, the hopeful singer-songwriter reminds us that things go wrong occasionally, but when you focus on that, you miss the enormity of what goes right.

Indeed, the 14-track offering is the path to a less bitter world and one that will even make you smile; just listening to the opening track about this better world stimulates happy chemicals.

From beginning to end Franti attempts to make peace with the world around him, noting on the opening track “Little Things” that self-disappointment comes from endless expectations and overlooking the extraordinary in the everyday. And it doesn’t take Franti long (track two, “Just To Say I Love You”) to espouse the familiar joys of love. Songs such as “Extraordinary” and “Only Thing Missing Was You 2” depict the ups and downs of love and survival. “Just to Say I Love You” cautions that if you seek excitement of new love all the time, you may create a vicious cycle. While singing about love, Franti is at his loosest and jauntiest and most playful, even though a number of lines about mundane activities such as buying a soda or watching Netflix leave a peculiarly unconvincing taste in one’s mouth.

Presence, or at least Franti’s repeated reference to the concept, is another connective thread of the record. On tracks such as “Enjoy Every Second”  and “Summertime Won’t Last Long,” Franti passionately instructs listeners to redirect the flow of their own energy to the power of the moment and to invest their attention in one place, and that investment is in the now.

The album is rife with references to self-happiness. If you put your happiness in other people’s hands, a vicious cycle is the likely result. Taking the reins of your own life is your only real choice. You cannot control the reins for other lives or expect others to manage yours. Perhaps not surprisingly, all of this humming in high spirits is set against a peppy, upbeat backdrop, and Spearhead adeptly thrusts the cloud-nine chemicals to flow constantly. It’s hard not to smile as Franti adopts the role of the reggae singer, though at times his vocals come across as something cartoonish.

“Nobody Cries Alone” and “This World Is So F*cked Up (But I Ain’t Ever Giving Up On It) “make known parts of Franti’s more empathetic and humanistic sides.

Whenever you stumble
Whenever your problems overload
Whenever you worry
Know that your heart don’t beat alone
And I will be waiting
With a hand to hold onto
‘Cause in this home nobody cries alone

Granted, Franti’s not breaking even the slightest speck of new ground here lyrically, but the execution of his sensitive vocals raises the bulk of these tunes above the realm of mediocrity. Furthermore, the mantras he preaches about not judging or abandoning others, and respecting others as not only individuals responsible for their own needs, but as cogs in the wheel of one larger system of human well-being deserve their own merit.

If there is one thing Franti & Spearhead can do, it’s release musical excitement, a skill that counterbalances the often generic, even lethargic, components of the lyrics. While some of the tracks dip awkwardly in their songwriting quality and overall consequence (and can be passively varnished over), Franti keeps the adhesive strong enough throughout Stay Human Vol. 2 to achieve some semblance of balance. Expect more good feeling from more enmeshment, and with continual listening, the album, despite its struggles, arrives at the sweet spot of novelty and familiarity.