Review: Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light

AbsolutePunk Oct 12, 2007

It’s a tough world out there for pop bands. In order to make the best of their lot, and appeal to the masses, they usually have to be billed as “guilty pleasures” or are forced to parade around under some genre hybridization for the sole sake of avoiding the dirty p-word. Yet somehow, through it all, Jimmy Eat World has managed to navigate through all of this fog and mudslinging to the point where they have transcended traditional criticisms. Perhaps it is because they are one of the few multi-platinum groups to still do club tours, or maybe just because they have so consistently upheld their own high standard for the past decade and a half. Either way, the band has attained a position of prominence in modern music and it is from this perch that they release their sixth studio album, Chase This Light.

AbsolutePunk Oct 4, 2007

Calling all Dashboard diehards – we know who we are. Together we throw our voices to the sweaty mist that rises above our mass of bodies. Like one huge open wound orgy, this Dashboard lovefest knows every lyric down to the last syllable. There is a short and tattooed man on stage with an acoustic guitar, and he stands a smidgen past five foot. His holy choir feeds off the heart he wears on his sleeve. The room sings as one, and our chords are hoarse by the third song.

AbsolutePunk Sep 18, 2007

Usually only once or twice a year, an album comes along, trailing behind it a robust passion for music, an appreciation for the legends of the genre, and above all, the ability to capture the hearts and minds of all those who listen. In 2007, that album is without a doubt Josh Ritter’s The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. Ritter walks the same traveling minstrel line as Springsteen and the Man in Black himself, producing songs that go far beyond a simple entertainment factor. Many critics believed Josh Ritter might never top his heavily-praised release from seventeen months before, The Animal Years. Switching musical styles quite noticeably, Ritter instead chose to blow the doors off of his earlier work.

AbsolutePunk Sep 16, 2007

Start the takeover.
The Takeover

Almost knowing what was to come, the first words said on Four Year Strong’s full-length debut, Rise or Die Trying, are evocative of the buzz that the band is being adorned with on this release. The band has received a notable following from their insane live shows, positive word of mouth, and critical acclaim from websites (guilty as charged) before their highly-anticipated full-length even hit stores. So, does Four Year Strong’s latest rise over the hype or die as an overhyped effort in mediocrity?

Simply put, this album rocks. Describing their music as “happy hardcore,” the band is essentially a pop-punk band with hardcore elements, thus being accessible to all sorts of fans. If you like singing along to music, you’re covered. If you like screaming along to music, you’re covered. If you like banging your head to music, you’re covered. Dueling vocals, great lyrical content, synth lines…I can go on. Rise Or Die Trying has elements that will capture the attention of any fan of rock music. The band is burning up and hitting up this scene that has become theirs for the taking.

Let me see you put your hands upon the stereo/It’s spitting out a ridiculous frequency/But turn it up turn it up/Break a sweat/’Cause were just burning up and hitting up the scene that was ours to hit up.
Bada Bing! Wit A Pipe!

Rise Or Die Trying is an absolute treat for the ears. The album starts with a warning siren on “The Takeover,” indicating that this album is about to take over–thrash your aural senses while leaving a smile on your face. (Talk about happy hardcore.) The album kicks off with “Prepare to Be Digitally Manipulated” and, while seeming to be a speedy punk tune immediately shifts to the hardcore with former Bury Your Dead singer Mat Bruso putting forth his vocals that let you know that Four Year Strong is not your typical pop-punk band in the vein of Cartel or Motion City Soundtrack, but pop-punk that truly exemplifies the roots of punk with the charm of pop.

Drummer Jake Massucco shines on every track with quick feet on the double bass pedals and crafting some really great fills in between the dual singing of guitarists Dan O’Connor and Alan Day. Their first single, “Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die” is a standout track and the perfect representation of what this band is, especially the dual vocals into the breakdown toward the end of the song.

Try not to make it so obvious/You always make it so obvious/I’m fighting it off.
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hell

However, it is this representation of the band that underlies the album’s main flaw–the lack of originality. Like I have said earlier, they combine a variety of elements into one package that works but it seems like all of these elements are just taken from other bands. Song titles reminiscent of those popularized by Fall Out Boy, dual vocals, and the use of a synthesizer to enhance the music are just some facets that make this release seem a bit too familiar at times from a band that has not had much time or exposure to distinguish themselves amidst their peers. The lyrics, while they employ metaphor very well on tracks like “Abandon Ship or Abandon All Hope” and take a vengeful view on sex in “Catastrophe” and “Beatdown in the Key of Happy,” are surprisingly solid though many deal with the topic of the opposite sex. The most glaring problem is that the band has essentially done the same thing for eleven tracks so there is a genuine sense of repetition by the end of the album. Although the lack of originality is the main fault of this album, the band’s ability to combine each of these parts and make it their own is no easy task, but it is one that they have excelled at.

Many will decry the slick production and mixing that have been done for this album, but I find that it is one of the album’s appeals, as it is intended to not be a full-fledged raw hardcore release but a pop-hardcore release. The clear sound makes it an easier listen than one that is muddled by murky sound quality and allows the guitar work and Josh Lyford’s synth lines to be heard easily.

Ladies and gentlemen, open up your eyes and ears and listen up.
Prepare to Be Digitally Manipulated

All in all, this is an album that should not be missed. It is a true pop-punk release, a refreshing look into an increasingly stale genre. This is an album that fits with any mood one is feeling, allowing you to sing along or bang your head. Most of all, it is fun and will have a ton of staying power as a result.

Though many will inevitably shy away from this release because of the immense buildup it has received, they are doing their ears a disservice as Four Year Strong has risen above the hype and made an album worth every word of praise it has received.

This article was originally published on AbsolutePunk.net

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Review: Motion City Soundtrack – Even if It Kills Me

AbsolutePunk Sep 14, 2007

Here we are again, Motion City Soundtrack and I. Our sizzling nerd sex is back with their third Epitaph release, Even If It Kills Me. Of course, the question here is not if the performance will be up to par. The question here is whether it will blow me out of the water, in which Justin Pierre and crew are certainly capable. I Am The Movie is justifiably priceless and Commit This To Memory is a careful and successful step into a growing style and sound. When I first heard Even If It Kills Me, I felt the hooks, felt the clever shapes, and felt what could be, but it needed to grow. Now, moments away from release day, MCS are wrapping their vines around my ankles and reeling me in like a helpless fish. What a turn-on.

AbsolutePunk Aug 6, 2007

It is no small order to tackle a concept album based on Johannes Kepler’s theory of Earth’s tonal orbit, centering around the themes of misery and famine. And surely, this is not a process that becomes any easier when your band loses one of it’s prime creative forces in Casey Crescenzo, who has since gone on to do great things with his Dear Hunter project. So really, it is quite understandable that listeners are rather apprehensive as they first approach The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, the second studio album from The Receiving End of Sirens. With all factors considered, it sounded like the boys might have bitten off more than they could chew – especially when they were playing with a roster that Crescenzo disciples would (recklessly) consider “crippled.” Nevertheless, the band hit the studio with Matt Squire to take a swing at the expectations laid out before them, and have met them in stride.

AbsolutePunk Jul 23, 2007

This is a weird album for me. I strongly dislike it, but a part of me enjoys it. Yeah, I know, it doesn’t make much sense. It can be described like an ex you hate but a part of you still loves. I’ve listened to Sum 41 for five years, and Underclass Hero is their only album that has disappointed me. How could I possibly dislike an album that has melodies that remind me so much of singing along to All Killer No Filler?

I’ve been anticipating Underclass Hero for months. Once I finally received it, I thought to myself, if only this could be the poppy, anthem-filled follow-up I’ve been waiting for since All Killer No Filler. I certainly thought so as the album kicked off with the title-track “Underclass Hero.” Filled with juvenile-themed lyrics (“Now it’s us against them / We’re here to represent / And spit right in the face of the establishment”) and a re-hash of the chorus to a previous b-side “Subject To Change” (Irony, much?), “Underclass Hero” left me with a constant need to look at Winamp to see if I wasn’t playing “Fat Lip.” The song quickly climbed the charts of my last.fm’s “most played songs” through repetitive plays. All is well in the pop-punk spot (a very, very large spot..) of my ears after “Underclass Hero” is over.

AbsolutePunk Jul 1, 2007

To say I have a slight interest in Silverstein is somewhat of an understatement. It started with When Broken Is Easily Fixed. Back then, we saw a much more volatile band — perhaps verging more on screamo bands of the past like Heroin or Indian Summer rather than adhering to the number of other growing styles within the genre at the turn of the century. Despite this, there are some dead-set on railing these guys for various things simply because of their association with Victory. I’d love to sidestep into that crowd, but I can’t erase that feeling of “oh, this is something” I had when first hearing the song “November”. Come time for a third proper full-length, however, Silverstein are significantly more comfortable in the scene they’ve gradually become a staple within. Veering away from the seemingly no-limit hardcore the band grew up getting a feel for, they’ve instead implanted a sort of pop/post-hardcore venture within the confines of Arrivals and Departures.

AbsolutePunk May 31, 2007

For many, the high temperatures and blaring rays of sunlight of the summer solstice mean a couple things: parties, water and pop-punk music. I know for me, many summers meant I would be riding around town, windows down, stereo turned all the way up, blasting blink-182 or New Found Glory. As long as it got the girls in the car with us or down to the bonfire, we didn’t care.

As seasons change and my age has taken me out of my carefree teenage years, I find summer lacking the same energy as it once did. While I still enjoy cranking up Enema of the State and Ocean Avenue on a crisp, clear sunny day, I find that my real energy comes from straight-up punk rock.

AbsolutePunk May 28, 2007

There can be a great deal of expectations for a sophomore record – especially when a lot of people questioned if said record would ever even come to fruition. Luckily for fans, Circa Survive is indeed the “real deal” and not just some one-off creative sidebar for prolific frontman Anthony Green. So, riding the wave of success from the well-received Juturna, and an exhaustive tour schedule, the band is back with the hotly-anticipated On Letting Go to show just where they have been the past two years and what they have brought back with them.

AbsolutePunk May 19, 2007

Concept albums offer up one hell of a tricky proposition. They are essentially the 7-10 split of music, where artists generally have to choose between having an album with artistic authenticity, or one that actually sounds good. Now, take that slippery slope and multiply it six-fold and you can have a hint of the battle Casey Crescenzo and company are facing with their now-unfurling multi-act epic – the story of The Dear Hunter.

For those of us who took the time to listen to, and appreciate, Act I: The Lake South, The River North EP, chances are you were taken a little off guard by just how damn solid the release was. Treated to thirty-nine meaty minutes of music-set storytelling, the listener is easily swept away into the parallel universe in which the work resides. And to be sure, most of us enjoyed every single second of it. While good for the EP itself, the fidelity of the release gave rise to some pretty inflated expectations for the then-upcoming LP. So, one main question still remains – how does it stack up? The answer is “brilliantly,” as Act IIshatters all existing expectations and blows even its EP and demo predecessors out of the water.

AbsolutePunk Apr 4, 2007

There were few band breakups in the modern music scene that jerked more tears than that of Northstar. When the Pollyanna-crafting artists hung it up in 2005, there was a collective sense of shock, disbelief, and overarching sadness left to be swallowed by the band’s many fans. Luckily enough, for Nick Torres and Tyler Odom, the breakup of Northstar was just the dissolution of a band they felt was no longer making a relevant style of music. The scene ended up losing the moniker as well as the group’s style of sardonic, thoughtful rock, but the gifts of Torres and Odom have lingered to give birth to Cassino, the duo’s new brainchild, which arrives with the most satisfying of results.

AbsolutePunk Mar 28, 2007

Believe me; I’m well aware what I am getting myself into by reviewing Daphne Loves Derby’s newest. There is a clear and present divide on this band and for good reason. Their early development in the maturity department, to an extent that surpasses bands twice their age, is an instant attraction to some. With that maturity, however, comes a fairly uninteresting byproduct in some cases and this being one of them. Their execution just can’t juggle it, unfortunately. Good Night, Witness Light is more or less a slightly modified revision of the same material these guys have been cranking out since ‘03. There is some slight newfound clarity in various instances, but not enough for those who found nothing of interest on On the Strength of All Convinced. Those who got off to the band’s first proper full-length, however, are more than likely going to be surprised with what this Seattle trio has crafted this time around.

AbsolutePunk Mar 19, 2007

Allusions to death and the afterlife, crass cynicism, and pessimistic wordplay were all wonderful lyrical role models for my first foray into indie rock. This venture oddly enough began in an American Eagle at Georgia’s North Point Mall. Feeling the need for a new array of corporate spun polo-tees led me into the brightly lit, heavily perfumed AE showroom. It was fate, as I see it, that Modest Mouse’s “Float On” came tumbling out of the store’s speakers that day. Coming out of that mall a few hours later I was a changed boy. No longer worried about whom I’d impress the next day at school, I set to work on finding out more about this band that had just opened up my ears. Little by little, This is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About, The Lonesome Crowded West, and The Moon and Antarctica slowly found their way into my, at that time, virtually empty CD shelf. Long story short, I would find myself exploring decrepit fan-sites, a lacking official website, and countless forums that touched and went on the band. The lack of information didn’t keep me from learning to play “Dramamine” on my bass, annotating themes and symbolism in “3rd Planet” and utterly worshipping “Styrofoam Boots”. All of the latter because of a humbly-formed, Issaquah based, angular indie-rock band by the name of Modest Mouse. Today I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the band and well-connected with the majority of the indie scene because of my beginnings with Isaac Brock and Co. Now, well after four full-lengths, four proper EPs, two B-side albums, and an official bootleg have been released by Washington’s finest, we are met with We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. If Brock’s perpetual use of allusions to death and the afterlife, crass cynicism, and pessimistic wordplay has taught me anything; it’s that his genius is outright timeless and one of the reasons I write for this site today.

AbsolutePunk Feb 28, 2007

Relient K’s history dates back to their 1998 demo, All Work and No Play, which resulted in their signing to Gotee Records. After three albums on Gotee, the band made a jump to the heavy-hitting Capitol Records to release Mmhmm in 2004. Now featuring two new members (guitarist Jon Schneck and bassist John Warne), the band seems ready to take on anything. After selling roughly 800,000 units of Mmhmm, Relient K returns to center stage with their dominant major-label follow-up titled Five Score and Seven Years Ago.

Review: Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light

Review: Dashboard Confessional – The Shade of Poison Trees

Review: Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

Review: Four Year Strong – Rise or Die Trying

Review: Motion City Soundtrack – Even if It Kills Me

Review: The Receiving End of Sirens – The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi

Review: Sum 41 – Underclass Hero

Review: Silverstein – Arrivals and Departures

Review: The Swellers – My Everest

Review: Circa Survive – On Letting Go

Review: The Dear Hunter – Act II: The Meaning Of, & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading

Review: Cassino – Sounds of Salvation

Review: Daphne Loves Derby – Good Night, Witness Light

Review: Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Review: Relient K – Five Score and Seven Years Ago