Review Summary: Negativity pouring from me, I just wanna be healthy.
You know as you grow older the things that matter most change. I remember when I was a teenager, I
hated my parents. Deep down I loved them, but on the surface I acted like they were the worst thing to ever happen. I’m not sure why, they did everything for me and gave my brothers and I all we could ask for. I guess growing older does that to you. Makes you appreciate the things in life that actually matter.
Perspectives are a very new find for me, but I wish they were not. On first listen I had no idea who they were. I could sense the Aussie accent through the screaming vocals of ‘Mother’ and I had to learn more.
'Stay For Those Who Care' is filled with melodic and clean guitars that move into nice riffing with a substantial number of guitar solos. ‘Between White Spaces’ bringing the juiciest riffs and leads on the album and opener ‘Stay’ mixes emo riffing with pop-punk drumming for a nice blend from the Sydneysiders that honestly, I was surprised to be hearing.
By no means is this a
heavy record. It’s quite tame in the grand scheme of things with a noticeable lack of breakdowns or moments that would welcome a circle pit. Despite this, it hits you where it needs to the most, right in that thing pumping the blood around your body. The vocalist has a desperation around himself as he produces shriek after shriek. He lets you know he ain’t happy almost breaking into a cry during ‘Heartless-Loveless’. There’s also a sprinkling of nice cleans throughout that are a welcome change to the constant shrieking. With the title track using these the best and left me feeling a bit sad they aren't brought around a bit more ofter.
Yet again, I am stuck connecting with the lyrics more than anything else. Maybe it’s the time of life I am at but these kind of raw and straight to the point lyrics just do it for me. ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ being the standout tracks that just left me feeling bare and happy I had great parents. ‘Stay’ is a plead against suicide and the title track here is
me. If you feel inclined, sus it out, and then you will understand why I love Hawthorne Heights so much.
‘Stay For Those Who Care’ is an ode to family, those that left us alone and those who tried to turn that loneliness into happiness. To this day, I remember that no matter how I felt, or how I acted, my parents stood by me when no one else would, that hasn’t changed. Give ya mum or dad a hug.
