Review Summary: I just want a safer body
Caretaker is an addictive blast of euphoria with a deceptively jagged chip on its shoulder. Across an unrelenting tracklist of resentful punk anthems averaging out to about two minutes each, a commendable amount of ground is covered with regard to the spectrum Total Downer’s simmering rage at the society they’ve found themselves unwillingly thrust into.
Caretaker functions perfectly well as a grab bag collection of sweaty, violent party jams to make blurry memories to, but a cursory glossing over certainly doesn’t do this record justice. It’s been a long time since an album has captured a very specific feeling so accurately, that feeling being the confounding and itchy fear of perceiving oneself as a small, defenseless child disguised within the entirely too vulnerable body of a directionless adult. The band’s lyrical narratives adopt a heartbreaking juvenile stance, covering the origin of a teenage boy’s body image issues through an open letter to Taylor Lautner of
Twilight fame, having the shattering realization that you have never truly known your father as a person, and desperately seeking peer and adult approval through questions like “Do I look cute?” or “Remember when I was so sweet?”
Don’t get it twisted, though; the only reason I implore listeners to take a deeper look at
Caretaker’s thematic elements is because of how much damn fun it would be to stay on the surface. Distorted earworms of riffs dominate every song, effortlessly supported by a solid and disciplined rhythm section, components that form the backbone for Andy Schumann’s charismatic and admirably exposed vocal performance. You could listen to this album five times in one day and have a different track stuck in your head every time; the hooks, lead lines, and gang vocal explosions are just that well constructed. As much as I wish there were more material here to sink my teeth into,
Caretaker’s brevity only serves to increase its replay value, as the conclusion of the album only motivates me to start it all over again. It’s a hell of a debut effort for the Cleveland outfit, and I’m sure there are only better things to come.
