I admittedly pay less attention to album art in the streaming world, but the image the Penny Loafers chose for Holding On is spot on for the vibe and emotions the group delivers. While the intention is good, and some of the soloists are sublime, there's much work ahead for the Penny Loafers.

The first two tracks, Chasing a Feeling and Grow, feature heartfelt, connected-to-each-other singing. Soloist Dana Lane is perfectly matched for Chasing a Feeling and leaves the listener with a great first impression. Grow is similarly styled; another mid-tempo, yearning, vulnerable piece where the Penny Loafers can demonstrate their emotional proficiency. There's no big fireworks-in-the-sky rock opener (or closer) here; the Penny Loafers are more nuanced and emotionally driven.

Then, things shift. Lead Sadie Butcher gives the performance of her life for Keep Lying, but there's hardly a rouse behind her. The ensemble is too soft and chorally rounded for these fire-filled lyrics, especially noticeable in the choruses. Before He Cheats is given a downtempo ballad presentation, in keeping with the album's unified style and repertoire. It's kind of haunting given the key signature and lyrics, but again, there's a disparity between the lead's delivery and the lack of support from the ensemble. Both of these tracks sound like two different songs are playing at once; if we can marry the energy and arrangement intensity between the front and the ensemble, we'd have something really memorable. Lastly for the midsection, This City disappoints, too. It's very sluggish from the group, and very empty in the arrangement.

But then things perk right back up like a fresh pull of espresso. Commit Me is full of lively details (love the bass hums) with a good groove and sustaining energy. Already Gone is the highlight of the release: another slow jam sizzler, with a gripping performance from lead Drew Korn, and an unexpected but very elegant mix-in from Katy Perry's The One That Got Away. Lastly, the Penny Loafers conclude with Anyone. This is another track where the lead (Nicholas Thomas-Lewis) has decided nothing less than 100% will do, which is wildly effective and awe-inspiring. The group finally opens up to hit some huge sounds, too.

The Penny Loafers need a more consistent release: find a baseline in engagement and never go below. Sing harder in the back, arrange smarter underneath, and let those incredible leads continue to wow us all on the top.

The Penny Loafers are "holding on" throughout their latest release, but maybe not just to a past relationship. There is a theme and an overall feel that nearly all of the tracks have which, while sung beautifully, give the album the feel of a single half-hour-long track rather than eight individual tracks. And while I can't prove it, I'm thinking some of our comments on the Penny Loafers's last album may have had something to do with it. (I'll get into that a little later.)

For now, let's look at the bright spots, and there are quite a few to talk about. First, one of the critiques that I had on the last release was that the background vocals weren't always matching the energy and dynamic levels of the soloist. It appears that the group took that to heart, because there are very few instances where that's not the case. A great example of this is Before He Cheats, where the arrangement (written by Brian McGrath) slows the tempo in the first verse/chorus. It gives the track a more "reflective" feel rather than the more vindictive and rage-filled emotion of the original by Carrie Underwood. The backgrounds follow soloist Vyshnavi Kosigi in lock step, growing with her as she moves through the song and gets more impassioned in the final chorus. That wasn't always the case on Living in Midnight, where the backgrounds just sounded flat and bored. A strategy to help this is to mix up the syllables that the backgrounds sing, including adding in some of the lyrics. Several tracks do this, including on Commit Me arranged by Nick Van Meter. Through the verses, the sopranos and tenors each take the lyrics with the soloist, adding nice harmonies through the arrangement and keeping the listener engaged for those little nuggets of color. Not to mention that it's more interesting to sing than simply "ooh"s and "ahh"s, so that's a plus as well.

As I referenced earlier, however, nearly all the tracks have the same overall feel and timbre — slower tempo and the feeling of a broken heart or some sort of longing. In the review of Living in Midnight, I had noted that the finished product on the uptempo songs of that album weren't as polished as the slower ballads. Rather than focusing on that strength, it appears that the Penny Loafers went the other route and leaned into the ballads. I wish there was a little more variety in the track list; one of the first moments where we get an influx of energy isn't until the end of Anyone (the final track of the album), where Nicholas Thomas-Lewis takes the solo line through an emotional rollercoaster. You can hear the tension and rasp in his voice, which adds a nice texture to the track.

Unrelated to the music, a little more attention needs to be paid to the credits on the album. On the track Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson, it's a mashup between that and The One That Got Away by Katy Perry, but there is no mention of the latter track in the songwriter credits. Even if you are only going to title the track by one of the songs involved, both tracks need to be noted somewhere in the credits.

If you are a fan of beautiful, emotional ballads and quite possibly a good cry, this album is screaming your name. If you're looking for something more upbeat and happy, I'd maybe wait to listen until you're in need of the good cry.

Holding On is a curious collection from the Penny Loafers. I found myself having two thoughts as I was listening to the album. The first is an incredibly positive enjoyment of what I'm listening to — it's a very palatable performance with simple chords, strong performers, and a lot of the intangibles of a good recording, such as energy in the studio. However, the other thought is very detrimental. Holding On is good, but the backgrounds and overall feel of the Penny Loafers is so plain and simple that the group leaves very little to be committed to memory.

Chasing a Feeling is a great showcase of this issue. The first verse and chorus feature block chords purely as the backgrounds, and every background voice has the same rhythm for every chord. They are colorful chords, but there is nothing to draw the listener's attention to anything in the background. This opening is partially salvaged by Dana Lane's solo, which has enough silky smooth soul to act as a focal point. However, this piece could be so much more with just a little bit of variation throughout the backgrounds to accentuate rhythms, harmonize with the solo, or even just add rhythmic depth to the piece. Rhythms and variations start coming by the second verse, and even then not enough to fully alleviate the issue.

Holding On also features a surprising number of Top 40 throwbacks from the late '00s. Before He Cheats and Already Gone stick out to me purely because of their overall popularity and my own personal nostalgia. However, with both, there's a bit of a gamble in the re-imaginations that just don't pay off. Before He Cheats has been reimagined from an anthem of a scorned lover's revenge to a haunting warning. However, the piece never fully captures the status of a warning or an anthem. Instead, the piece becomes muted. The overall story arc of the song is very slow to start, resulting in a relatively quick and muted climax. Already Gone does a better job telling the story until it's met with a clip from Katy Perry's The One That Got Away; the tempo begins to drag during this portion and continues to drag until the end of the piece. This is one of those few times in the release where a lack of energy becomes detrimental, but it still makes a powerful statement.

And then, when I was ready to be done with this album, Anyone is a great closing number. There are many great soloists throughout Holding On, but Nicholas Thomas-Lewis's presentation is stellar. The emotions are absolutely palpable across the entire piece, but the vocal range almost makes the piece stronger, as the chorus feels more like a cry for help, and grit thrown in at the end of the second verse makes the piece feel incredibly human. However, more than just the soloist is all the backgrounds. There is just enough here to support the soloist while also being interesting enough as a standalone element of the piece. This is a song where you can hear the soloist's emotions throughout the work and those emotions are fed by and support the back tracks.

Almost as soon as Holding On ends, I'm hit with the same feeling of musical short-term memory loss. There are no musical earworms across the album. The backgrounds are often blocky and almost monophonic at times, with all parts moving in the same rhythm while forcing the soloists to be the focal point of the piece with little support. There are no sour notes across the release, and the energy throughout those simple backgrounds do enough to at least keep the listener engaged. However, without those intricacies and themes throughout the backgrounds, there is so much left to be desired to not only keep the listener's attention, but to make them want to listen again. It's a bit of an arranging overhaul to make this change, but it will do wonders and rocket the Penny Loafers to the next level.