I don't like those songs either. I don't like Kayla either. I like the second album a lot more just because of A Place In Your World and (especially) Peaceful Harbor.
Dude, Kayla and The Storm are the highlights of the album, and maybe the band to me. Those choruses in Kayla are killer, and the drums in The Storm are top five Portnoy for me.
I don't think the drums are anything special, but The Storm does kick ass. Kayla? Bah! Bah, I say!
I just love how Mike mirrors the lyrics in the chorus; echoing the frenzy of the storm itself:
The storm... We will dance as it breaks (BAP, BAP, BAP...)
The storm... It will give as it takes (BAP, BAP, BAP...)
Then the calm as the love part of the metaphor kicks in:
And all of our pain is washed away (boom boom, BAP, boom boom, BAP...)
Don't cry or be afraid (boom, boom, BAP, boom, boom, BAP...)
Some things only can be made... in the storm