The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 349

It really is fantastic!

 

Sounds and looks like we were kinda close for some of this stuff and I'm glad you had a great time. Gonna finish my write up now!

 

For the second week in a row I am paired with @anonimito and I am giving him Dynamite Hack - Superfast and I’m getting Emerson Hart - Cigarettes and Gasoline

 

2000 Trees 2018 review

Spoiler tagged a controversial band in case people didn't want to read about them.

Thursday

I started off the first day by going to see Black Foxxes (7) on the main stage. I’m only really familiar with their first album, but I know many on here enjoy their second too. They got a reasonable crowd and people seemed to know the lyrics to their songs and overall I thought they put in a good performance, opening with “Husk” from their debut album, and playing a varied set before closing on “JOY”.

Next up I saw a band called Vukovi (8) on the Cave stage, the biggest tent. They are a Scottish four piece fronted by Janine Shitstone, a ball of pure energy, and they absolutely smashed an unexpectedly big crowd. They got a big pit going as Janine shouted furiously that she wanted them to line dance instead, she didn’t get one from what I saw, but they did gain a lot of fans.

Next up in the Cave were Boston Manor (9). Opening with “Burn You Up” into “Drowned in Gold”, the tent absolutely erupted, and I found myself crowd surfing and moshing for the entire set. “CU” and “Forget Me Not” were good additions to the set, as fan favourites that don’t always get played, and they ended on a one-two of “Laika” and new single “Halo”, putting in one of the best performances of the weekend and leaving me an absolute state.

Not long after, another highly anticipated band hit the Cave, New York hardcore band Turnstile (9). They got the pits opening to huge sizes, as they blazed through songs like “Fazed Out” and “Generator”. Their crunchy sound combined with the groove and bounce orientated riffs was the perfect combination, especially on highlights like “Drop” and “Gravity”, whilst bassist Franz Lyons took lead vocals for a fantastic rendition of “Moon”. They even had time for older songs like “Death Grips”, in what was one of the most furious and punishing sets of the weekend.

Sub headlining the main stage were Marmozets (8), a late addition after the sad passing of Frightened Rabbit singer Scott Hutchinson. It was bound to be a strange set, but they did well, as singer Becca McIntyre lead the crowd through newer tracks like “Play”, which sat well alongside older songs like “Move Shake & Hide”. As usual, she was her frenetic, unpredictable self on stage, whilst the band were mostly note perfect behind her, with the highlight being “Why Do You Hate Me?”

I sadly missed At The Drive-In as I felt like a walking corpse and went to the campsite for a bit, but I did later see the funny Thrill Collins (8) play in a lit up Forrest Sessions stage. They are essentially an acoustic band that only does covers in interesting styles, and they pretty much exclusively play festivals, but are a very fun act, as they lead singalongs of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) by Whitney Houston and more. It was a hugely entertaining way to end a great first day. Unfortunately I was too tired to find the acoustic Nervus set but that was made up for the next day.

Friday

Opening up the smaller Neu stage was Nervus (9). Frankly, they needed a bigger tent. It was packed inside, and the crowd was 50% people who knew every word and 50% people who had simply decided to check them out. The set was rammed full of fantastic songs, and there were plenty of people singing every word, leaving singer Em beaming as she noodled through tracks like “Nobody Loses All The Time”, “Sick sad World” and “Follows”. After this set, it’s clear that they are winning new fans regularly, and I can see them really gaining traction in the next year or two.

Following this I headed to The Axiom stage, a larger tent, to see three piece band Gloo (7), who played fast punk rock music with tons of singalong potential, and they put on a good performance to a sadly half-filled tent. Despite that, it was a good performance.

After them on the same stage were Sløtface (8), who had a much better crowd. Hailing from Norway, Slotface are a four piece pop punk band who used to be known as “Slutface” (it is still pronounced that way). Singer Haley Shea has a fantastic stage presence, and in tracks like “Magazines” and “Pitted” they have some legitimately brilliant songs.

A little later on were Touche Amore (9), who played the Cave. Opening with “~”, they came roaring out of the traps, and put on one of the sweatiest sets of the weekend. They only played tracks from Parting The Sea and Stage Four but as those are the albums I like by them, it was great.

I did take a brief moment to leave and catch a bit of Fangclub (8) over on the Neu stage, and I was impressed at their sound. I managed to catch four or so songs but I really enjoyed them and they are a band I’ll really keep an eye on now.

Headlining the Cave that night were Creeper (10) who got an insane crowd. Opening with a spooky special audio clip, they launched into “Suzanne” and then proceeded to pummel their way through 15 songs, including early deep cuts like “Valentine”, “Astral Projection and “Gloom” from the EP’s, as well as older favourites “VCR” and “Black Mass” and a host of tracks from their debut album. I spent the entire set moshing, crowd surfing (about 6 times) and singing so much I pretty much lost my voice. They incited one of the best crowds I’ve seen at a Cave set before, alongside The Menzingers and The Wonder Years last year. An incredible way to end the day, and I went and dried off and changed clothes for the silent disco and the nights drunk escapades!



Saturday

Saturday started with Muskets (8) on the Neu stage, and they started the day off with a bang, with their melodic post-hardcore going down well with the crowd.

The Xcerts (7) were playing an acoustic set in the Forrest Sessions area, and they took the time to play some older songs to a surprisingly large crowd, including a finale where the singer walked through the sitting crowd whilst playing. My girlfriend and I were stood further back but it seemed really cool and we still enjoyed it, especially the cover of Tiny Dancer.

Next up at the Cave was Woes (8) who didn’t get a huge crowd, but performed brilliantly. A pretty straight up pop-punk band from Scotland that sound like Neck Deep or a better version of ROAM, they have eight fantastic songs across two EP’s and are solid live, with “Worst Friend” and “High On You” being highlights. Definitely a band to check out if you enjoy pop-punk.

I then went to see Dream State (8) who I know nothing about, except that my girlfriend likes a few songs and was really surprised at how tight they were live. I’ve caught them at a few festivals and thought they were decent, but this time they really pulled it out of the bag and singer Charlotte Gilpin ended the set crowd surfing and meeting a fan, singing together on top of people.

I then went to get some food and caught an artist called Will Varley (6) who appears to play folk music and was making his main stage debut after playing at many different stages. The music was quite gentle, and it didn’t do much for me, but he clearly has a following, and his voice was honestly beautiful. The lyrics seemed good too, slightly typically hippie subject manners yet it was delivered convincingly.

I then saw a band called Gender Roles (8) on the Neu tent. They’re quite a small band but they play anthemic and fast punk, with bits of emo and alt rock in there. I knew a few songs but was really taken aback but just how good they are live. “Plastic” and “About Her” were also really damn good live.

I then saw the main set from The Xcerts (7) who were good, and got a decent crowd and singalong, but I felt a bit too tired to truly appreciate it sadly.

After them on the main stage was Basement (9) who absolutely slayed it. As usual their performance was frantic and powerful, and they blitzed through a really wide ranging selection of their three albums, mixing everything together. “Crickets Throw Their Voice” was an obvious highlight from their debut, but later songs like “Whole”, “Pine” and “Promise Everything” all sounded huge and made me excited for their new record.

I then saw Moose Blood (8) with my friends who are obviously a very controversial band so skip this if you are so inclined. I won’t say much about them but they got a big crowd again, and I saw a tons of band members watching them too. They were good live, and it seemed like they went over really well.

I then had an hour to kill until the headliners so I saw a few song of Hell Is For Heroes (8) who were playing The Cave, and were a popular post-hardcore band around 15 years ago. They played to a big crowd and got a heroes welcome (pun intended) and played my favourite track “Night Vision” early. Overall it seemed a really good performance and they got a much better reception than I expected.

To finish the festival Enter Shikari (9) took to the main stage and absolutely tore it apart. The new songs still aren’t my cup of tea and seem a bit weak, but all the older material went over brilliantly. From “Destabilise” to “Juggernauts” to “Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour”, they chucked in songs from every period of their history whilst singer Rou Reynolds cavorted like a ring leader at a circus. People crowd surfed on inflatable flamingos and pizzas, and their light show and stage setup was spectacular. A great end.

 

Everyone who took "23" as a chance to take an intermission doesn't deserve this band

 

Great write up Sam! To see Generator played live must have been something else.

 

Catch-up time on the other album @bachna84 assigned me.

Warm Thoughts - I Went Swimming Alone



I finally realized what this album reminds me of.

Let It Happen's 2014 debut album, Cause + Effect.

That random find really took me by surprise. It was an autumn-tasting blend of punk-ish emo and indie rock that was lyrically mature without losing musical immediacy. I had a special relationship with that record when it released, but I actually just re-listened to Cause + Effect for the first time in a long while because I finally pinpointed this elusive comparison I'd been searching for during my first few listen-throughs of I Went Swimming Alone.

So, just because I can, I'm going to write my review as a conversation between these two records.



I hesitate calling either of these albums "alternative" or "pop/rock," even though that's essentially what they are. My hesitation stems from the strong sense that these bands were raised on pop-punk -- maybe even started out as punk-leaning bands when the members first started playing together as teenagers -- but managed to grow out of the punk sounds by the time they actually recorded their debut albums. But something about the urgency and brash delivery and occasionally short track lengths smells like the residue of punk.

Other similarities between these two albums include how the big drums and dirty bass fill the mix, how the singers form their melodies, and the ways the lyrical attempt to poetically grasp at maturity, even if the attempts sometimes fail.

The lyrics on both are particularly fascinating. I'm not always a lyric-centric listeners, especially not on my first few listens of a non-hip-hop album, but these bands make the lyrics hard to ignore from the start, whether it's Let It Happen's bold proclamation "I want the world / I want the world to state its course," or Warm Thoughts' haunting couplet "It was great not getting to know me / You don't ever even have to feel a thing."

One of the most striking songs on I Went Swimming Alone is "Airport," where what almost sounds like a goofy line, "I people watched and just forgot to leave," ends up becoming a thoughtful and tragic rumination on our fear of dying alone. Both bands have a strong sense of the importance for personal growth, and also how terrible humans naturally are at it. This might best be represented in the chorus to Let It Happen's "Burst and Bloom," which goes, "Am I the rotten fruit hanging from my family tree? / Did I plan to reap the harvest long before I ever sowed the seeds? / We don't get to choose when it is we burst and bloom / Years ago I'd disagree, perhaps the will is not so free."

Overall, I would say the lyrics and the better production make Cause + Effect the stronger album of the two, but they share an interesting weakness, specifically in the aforementioned way in which, in my opinion, the bands overreach for maturity. For Let It Happen, the strangest example is on "Spent," where the bridge lyrics, "The young wanna change the world / The wise wanna change themselves / The young wanna change the world / But I just wanna change myself," carry the obvious (and yet potentially unintentional) connotation that the singer is calling himself wise. It's a cocky thing to say and weird thing to sing along to.

For Warm Thoughts, the strangest track has to be "The Pier," which musically might be my favorite track. It's the song that gets stuck in my head most frequently, even though its chorus contains one of those awkward sets of lyrics: "How can you romanticize the beach? / And why would you spend your time there every week?" It might not seem too bad written down, but how the melodies interplay with the consonant sounds is really off-putting, and this is on a track that already uses words like "hypodermic," "homophobic," and "virginity," to a strange and unmusical effect.

As great as both bands can be with the lyrics and compositions, the songs can also occasionally feel half-baked. Some of the shorter songs end abruptly, as if the band just didn't know where they could've gone if they had tried to write a bridge. (In all fairness, though, I'd rather a song not have a bridge than a song have a bad one.)

Where I'd like to see Warm Thoughts grow in future releases is honing in on this album's very clear strengths and pleasures, while branching out in styles of guitar playing/strumming. Some of the guitar work is too same-y. Meanwhile, I'd love to see the singer become more confident, too. Sometimes, his voice irked me, which was only okay because he writes really great melodies.

But for anyone who enjoys alt-rock or pop/rock that feels inspired by 00's pop-punk, then I'd highly recommend both of these records to you.

 

Nice write-up! I will need to check out the Let It Happen album. I’m glad you enjoyed Warm Thoughts though - I think it’s a solid album! If I had to pick a favorite track it’d be Your Haircut Man probably.

 

Review time! Lets see if I can get closer to being caught up. First up, one from @Davjs

Finch- What It Is To Burn

Finch is a band that doesn't really need an introduction around these parts. But for those of you who do need one; Finch is pop punk/ post hardcore band from the early 2000s that was extremely well known within the scene. Sound wise, its what you would get if you crossed Jimmy Eat World and mixed them with Glassjaw or Senses Fail. I was familiar with Finch, but their 2002 debut album was one that I never listened to in full; only a couple songs on an old mix cd that my older brother made for me at one point or another before he left for college. I loved their later stuff, but I am glad to now rectify not hearing their debut album. This album is pure early 2000s bliss; you have the soaring and shredding guitars, great hooks and choruses, and some excellent unclean vocals backing up melodic clean vocals. The difference with this album compared to others of the genre in that time is that this one takes influences from a lot of different sounds, mixes them up, and creates something unique that sounds like something original (especially at the time).

Look no further than the intro track to show you what you are in for. 'New Beginnings', a great title given this was their debut LP, is a song that really plays the part of the opening track well. The first time I heard it I was reminded of what I loved about Finch, with its great guitar riffs and powerful clean vocals carrying the first two verses before the shrieking unclean vocals kick in and give this song a kick of flavor with its already great pop punk sound. There are a lot of great dynamics on this album, not just in this song but in many of them. There are times where the unclean vocals lead the song in, such as 'Grey Matter', or the shredding guitars take it in 'Perfection Through Silence' before fading into the background and giving way for some great vocalization. The double bass drum work on this album is incredible, and while very reminiscent of the early 2000s scene still holds up very well in 2018, and can sometimes be a major part of these songs. Another good point of this album is the fact that none of these songs sound the same or get lost in each other, each song has something that makes it stand out from the others and work as a cohesive whole of an album as opposed to a couple stand out tracks with skippable filler in between. The production on this album helps in that regards, each song has a focus on another part of their sound with the production, and then the next song will focus and emphasize on something different. 'Awake' is a prime example of this, where the guitars and vocal styles sound completely different than the songs prior to it, but at the same time are not out of place in the album. I will say that I love the guitars in this song, there is this rhythm to it and this unique sound that just sounds great, and once the vocals come in the song is easily cemented as one of my favorites on the album. This album can seamlessly switch between its pop sound such as the very uplifting 'Stay With Me', which is incredibly upbeat and bright, and then switch to a more punk and hardcore sound in 'Project Mayhem' one song later, and still sound cohesive. Its really impressive, and something a lot of bands after fail to replicate.

This album is really good, and a must listen to for fans of the early 2000s music scene. Managing to blend multiple different sounds together with a dash of electronic effects, Finch came out of the gate swinging with this debut album, and its no wonder they built the name for themselves that they did. I think this possibly has become my favorite album by them now that I have heard this one in full. I highly recommend it, whether you are a fan of alternative, pop punk, or post hardcore, this album has something you are going to love on it. It has quiet moments, it has brutal moments, it has melodic and it has harsh; but all of it culminates into something truly special.
Stand out tracks:
New Beginnings, Letters To You, Grey Matter, Perfection Through Silence, Stay With Me, Project Mayhem, Three Simple Words, What It Is To Burn

 

Looking forward to reading these new concert reviews during lunch tomorrow :)

 

Heres one from @Kvothe

The Struts- Everybody Wants

Hey guys, do you like British rock? Are you a Freddie Mercury fan? Well then this album is the album for you. So this is a 2014 album that flopped, was picked back up and polished off and rereleased in 2016, and reached acclaim just two years later after it first failed. These guys have the sound and grandness of Queen, a sound straight out of the 80s, and a lead singer who sounds like he has a huge influence from Freddie Mercury; and it combines into a flashy and glamorous album that is extremely catchy. When I was first given this album, Kvothe was a bit worried that I was going to react to it negatively; but the second I hit play and heard the intro track 'Roll Up' which sounds like a song that would be playing in the background of an 80s film during the climax building montage of the main character getting prepared to go take on the main antagonist; and I loved it. This song was amazingly catchy, the chorus (Which contains the album title) had me instantly interested in this band and album just for its sheer 80sness and its insanely catchy chorus that had me bobbing my head with the groove right away. This was a huge number to open the album with, and I was curious if the band could continue this energy with the rest of the album.

First off, how the heck did this flop in 2014? This album should have taken off right then and there. But I digress. This is the sound of a band that doesn't care if you think they are too 'glam' or what anyone thinks; they are bold and doing what they want to do. 'Could Have Been Me' most assuredly takes that energy that 'Roll Up' started us with and continues the groovy rock sounds, complete with chanting gang vocals at the back half of the song that just begs to be clapped in rhythm to with a crowd at a show. This is an ambitious album, these guys hold nothing back and give it everything they got. This really does ring of an 80s rock band, but with a modern production twist. Instrumentally they are on point, the guitars in this album especially are on fire and a huge highlight, there are some moments in songs like 'Kiss This' where its the main focal point and the definite highlight of the song; just this shredding solo of a bridge where the guitar takes center stage with no vocals and its absolutely fantastic. This happens on more then one occasion, and it never gets repetitive. The songs are also infectious, songs like 'She Makes Me Feel Like' are bright, poppy rock songs that have these fast tunes and pop influences that will be stuck in your ears for days. Just like the previously mentioned songs, another huge thing about this song is the chorus. If I can give this band one compliment its that The Struts know how to write a catchy, anthemic chorus. I could listen to this album and not be able to pick out which of these songs is the most single like, just because almost all of them are catchy and have the hooks to be a single. The sound is the perfect combination of vintage rock and modern production, and it creates something truly unique. 'Young Stars' is another example of this; a fiery and anthemic banger of a song that has the vintage sounds of an 80s rock song but with the glorious advancements of modern production it shines so much brighter.

If you like anything I said about this album, I highly recommend checking it out. Soaring, extremely well played guitars, choruses and hooks for days, as well as a cool 80s vintage rock album in a modern package. Honestly this should sit well with pretty much anyone especially, as I said, fans of Queen and Mercury. This album contains so many potentially hit songs, and I am surprised it didn't get bigger in 2016; but its worth revisiting now. Musically and lyrically this band has the chops to win over a lot of people, and its an album that came out of left field for me but I will revisiting a lot more in the future.
Stand Out tracks:
Roll Up, Could Have Been Me, Kiss This, Dirty Sexy Money, She Makes Me Feel Like, Young Stars, Black Swan, Where Did She Go

 

@teebs41 and I traded and he gave me:

All Get Out: The Season (2011) Favorite Gentlemen

All Get Out are a rock band from Charleston, South Carolina and is this their debut record. Sound wise, they blend a nice mix of pop punk paired with bands like Manchester Orchestra or Brand New. Lead vocalist, Nathan Hussey even reminds me of Manchester's Andy Hull. Lyrically, the album primarily focuses on how hard life on the road can be and you can really feel it on songs such as Son of Mine and Let Me Go. Something I also noticed throughout the lyrics are some hints at religious themes but nothing overly obvious and "in your face".

The production is fantastic and I love the addition of strings and piano on Girl, Gun and the horns on the title track. They are used on other songs throughout the album but I felt these songs really shined with the additional instrumentation. I will say that the album does feel a bit "unbalanced" and the best songs are in the back half. Maybe it was done intentionally in order to make you truly absorb the record and want to hit play again at the end. Don't get me wrong, the front half is still just as amazing. My only other complaint is opener, My Friends, which feels far more pop punk than the rest of the album and doesn't seem to fit the "flow" of the rest of the album.

The album is 39 minutes, which is actually a fairly short record for this style, but feels so dense and layered. Every time I put it on I got something new from it. I love the closing track, Come and Gone and it's ambient feel with a bit of country mixed in. It makes you feel a lot of emotions starting out on a more pop oriented note and then becomes dark and brooding but something about feels uplifting the entire time and by the end you feel at peace.

Thank you so much for this recommendation @teebs41 and I will absolutely order the vinyl! I also want to mention the fact that Nathan produced Out of Service's album, Morning, and he seems like the perfect person to do it.

RIYL: Manchester Orchestra, Brand New, Pop Punk

Favorite Songs:
Lucky Bastard
Let Me Go
Come and Gone

 

Amazing review of one of my favorite records! Great job Nate!

 

Here is another one from @Kvothe

The Starting Line- Direction


My exposure to The Starting Line has been documented here in the CMCS before. When @bachna84 previously recommended me one of their albums, I made it known that I had heard a big handful of their songs but not really any full albums by them. I liked the one he gave me (actually more now later on that Ive had more time with it), so when Kvothe gave me the chance to listen to and review another TSL album, I jumped at the chance. So here we are with their 2007 release, and how does it stack up? Well, this is definitely not the same The Starting Line that released Based On A True Story. This is the follow up to that album, and sonically the band has matured and grown by leaps and bounds in just the two years between these albums. This Pennsylvania based pop punk band seems to have gone for a slightly more mature sound on this album compared to the 2005 release, yet manages to keep the pop punk roots that were on display on that album. This isn't a change in style or sound from that album, but rather a progression of that sound. As soon as the title track 'Direction' came on, I knew this was going to be something more advanced than my previous experience with them. That song just ripped, it was harder than anything on the previous album, and it got me in the groove with the album right away. The following song '21' kept my expectations in check; as the song was about the age of 21 and what it entails such as drinking and having fun. The song was extremely catchy and poppy, and was what solidified me knowing that this was the sound from BOATS but advanced to a slightly new level.

The next song that really grabbed me was 'Island'. An innocent song about sailing away with your loved one to your own place in life, the love song does a good job of hooking you into the album. Sonically, it sounds great, and vocally just the same. This was one of the first standouts of mine on the album, and one of the ones that had me coming back more. Its a catchy song, one that had me singing along instantly and was rather infectious to the ear; something these guys are really good at doing. 'Something Left To Give' is an example of the band branching out a bit with their sound, as they explore a softer, more tropical acoustic sound that is something that works really well during these summer months. One thing I noticed during this song was that the vocals on this album are much approved, even though there was nothing wrong with them before; the vocalist has definitely improved in these two years. This song works so well driving in a car on a warm summer night with the windows down. The catchy singalong chorus is great, and its something that TSL displays a skill with on many songs on this album. 'Birds' for example, is much more of a rock song on the album, but the chorus of it is fantastic and definitely one of my favorite TSL choruses, with so much fire and energy that you cannot help but rock along with it. These are the kinds of songs that TSL does best, look no further than 'I Could Be Wrong' for an example. Its a great pop punk song, with some of their best instrumentals and vocals with a great buildup in the verses and a fantastic chorus. This song just sounds good, and it is probably my favorite song on the entire album. Something about it just hooks you in, keeping your attention with this album at the half way point. Lyrically the band has grown as well. 'Need To Love' has some of the best lyrics I have heard from this band between these two albums, exploring the question if we need love and displaying it in a more somber sound. Its a catchy song, and its a very relatable song to many of us. This was definitely one of my go to songs on repeat listens. Sonically the band has grown, the production has improved, and the catchy hooks are just as present on this album as they were on the last one. No song on this album blends into the other, TSL doing a very good job of keeping each song fresh and sounding great while still sounding like a cohesive album that is well sequenced.

My second exposure to The Starting Line has been a very positive one, and I find it hard to pick which of these two albums I like more. These guys have a huge knack for writing catchy choruses and great pop punk; its no wonder that they got as big as they did back then. This is an album I will assuredly be listening to a lot in these summer months, its been on in my car a lot throughout the last week and will continue to do so. The production on the album is fantastic, the band is in top shape, and the vocals just fit with the summer time jams of pop punk that I love. Definitely check this one out if you are like me and somehow missed this one, it is something that you will enjoy if you are into some great pop punk sounds. The final two tracks on the album 'What You Want' and 'Pictures' are fantastic examples of what this band can do, and they round out a very nicely done tracklist for this album. Another great recommendation!
Stand Out Tracks:
Direction, 21, Island, Something Left To Give, Birds, I Could Be Wrong, Somebody's Gonna Miss Us, Need To Love, What You Want, Pictures

 

Nice review!

they’re from Philly though

 

@Bad Frequencies have you ever heard Say It Like You Mean It?

 

They’re from jersey, you ever hear the song “given the chance”

 

Here is one from @bachna84

Every Time I Die- From Parts Unknown (DELUXE)

Another step in Bachna's journey to expose me to every song that this band has ever made in the history of their career, I was given two deluxe edition albums of theirs to listen to from him. These guys have always been a band I liked, but kept at arms length. Sometimes, they get a bit too aggressive for my tastes; and other times the aggressive music they create hits the spot and I am able to let loose with it. This metalcore band is a big one; they have chops in both musically and vocals, creating something unique. This album shows a shift in their tone, and shows the band having fun with their album. Having heard a couple albums from their discography now, I can say this album seems to be an intersection point between many of their sounds, culminating into something that should please any fan of any of their various degrees of sounds. I will admit though, on my first listen it took me a couple tracks to really start vibing with this one. It was the third track 'Decayin With The Boys' where this album really hooked me in and I was sold from there on out. That song had the perfect combination of everything I wanted to heard from Every Time I Die on this album; fast and aggressive music, to the walls screaming and rage, along with some catchy and sing along worthy segway between the screamed vocals. A summer anthem of a track, this song had me sold and in the mood for some more ETID.

This album has a very chaotic sound, with its expansive riffs carrying the songs. Sure, the aggressive and rage inducing, mosh pit fueling, vocals are great and amazing in their own right but these guys have some incredible guitar riffs that really are the back bone of these songs. 'If There Is Room To Move, Things Move' is a prime example of this, (And fitting title because this song fucking rips and had me on more then one occasion busting out the air guitar and wanting to start moshing). The guitar and drums in this song are fascinating, creating this sheer burst of raw force that carries the vocals along through the entirety of the track. Its a firecracker of a song, but the majority of this album is. There really isn't a bad song on this one, each song plays so well into the next. There are some times where they songs mesh too well together, and it can be hard to tell if a song ended and another one began; but this just makes for what seems like one big grand album that is best listened to as a whole rather than in small segments. There are exceptions to the rule, of course, such as songs like 'Moor' with its creepy and out of tune deep piano beginning and soft vocals, something I actually really liked and found quite refreshing as it leads into its explosion.

There are lots of moments like this in the 31 minute run time of this album. The album itself moves at a breakneck speed, but there are these moments where things shift in a direction you didn't expect and take on a new path in the journey; its one of the things that make Every Time I Die unique and masters of their sound and craft. The musicianship in the album is where it is at, as I have mentioned before. 'Thirst' contains some of these fascinatingly aggressive guitars that show off how skilled this band is with their sound, and its one of the ones with the most aggression, until the song takes this shift at the 49 second mark to show just how good these guys are, as all of the instruments just take this sharp right turn into a different sound, all the way until it carries into my favorite song on the album, 'Old Light'. Its one of the things I really admire about this band. Old Light, as I said, is my favorite song on the album. It starts out insanely raw and aggressive, before it shifts into a more clean vocal sung song with equally explosive guitars and drums, and then shifts gears back again during the verses. This is a song I repeated many times on my first listen, just loving the sheer skill behind a song like this. The guest vocals from Brian Fallon on this song are exquisite and sit really well with me. The two closing songs, 'Idiot' and 'El Dorado' do a great job of finishing things off without disappointing with the energy this album inflicts, and out of the tracks they really were the best ones to close this album out in. Then we have the two bonus tracks, Cheap Ludes and Saturnalia. Cheap Ludes is aggressive as hell, and contains some of my favorite guitar work on the entire album near the end of the song, I am surprised it didn't make the album. And then you have Saturnalia, which may very well be THE most vocally aggressive song on this album, which is saying a LOT. Those are some damn impressive screams, and the insanity that they demonstrate with such ferocity is impeccable.

All in all, this was a good album. Admittedly, this isn't something I will return to ALL the time, just because the aggression behind it is something that I have to be in the mood to listen to. I saw these guys open for Taking Back Sunday last year, and the energy they had during that show impressed me; and it is ever so present on their albums too. If you are a fan of metalcore and rage inducing, to the wall insane aggression with some extremely skilled musical talents, this is definitely one you want to get into if you have not listened already. The more I listen to this band, the more I respect them, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the other ETID album I was given; and diving more into their discography in my own time.
Stand out tracks:
The Great Secret, Decayin With The Boys, Overstayer, If There Is Room To Move Things Move, Moor, Thirst, Old Light, Idiot, Cheap Ludes

 

Wikipedia says Philly. I read Pittsburgh. So I just edited it to say PA lol

 

Yes. Most of it anyway

 

They all grew up in jersey

 

Glad you enjoyed it!!!

Moor is probably my favorite song on the album, but it’s an awesome album. I was out of town for work the summer when this album came out and I remember listening to it a ton!


As a side note, I think this site’s track by track breakdown with Keith is pretty cool:

Every Time I Die 'From Parts Unknown': Keith Buckley's Track-By-Track - Music Feeds

 

Nobody thinks of them as a Jersey band @teebs41

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

4 reviews down, 3 more until I’m caught up to the week. But that’s enough for tonight lol

 

These are opening a tour here in October, and now I feel like I have to check these out. Between these and Animal Flag, I've had a few recommendations for bands to fill than BN-sized hole.