Review Summary: Max Bemis and the Painful Splits deliver a great 2nd album with one big flaw...
IF you don't know who Max Bemis and the Painful Splits are, then it's Max Bemis's solo project away from Say Anything, his other solo project. While you might think that would make these two bands sound the same you couldn't be more wrong if you tried. And that's the big problemo with Max Bemis and the Painful Splits (i always thought it should be Max Bemis and the Painful Spits because he's known for spitting when he sings), the problem is that it's not very well produced at all! In fact they sound more like home demos than a product you would release to the public. And that drags this down from probably a 5 (or at the very least a 4.5) to a 3.5. But if you can look past that little factoid then you should be all set to enjoy this doozy of an album headed your way.
This album follows pretty much the same forumla as the first one does; great first half, boring second half. And the same is true for both albums, starting off with a band but getting sort of old due to the lack of very good production. Luckily though the album starts off with probably it's best set of songs like I Never Knew You Were So Lonely. It is just a simple three chord song like the opener Chlorine Bath from the first Painful Spits, but its a solid song that doesn't get too complex. The second song Joshua Adam Sultan is pretty good too, although it has one GLARING flaw; it rips off the song Roxanne by the Police! Same melody and same lyrics just shoved right into one of Max's songs! Did he think we wouldn't notice since its surrounded by a song that he wrote?
Caught By Shifra is another good one although its more of a fingerpick ballad than the others are. I remember reading his twitter and he said he was going to put an electric version of this on the new album but as far as I know it's not on it. Lowman is also another highlight but the only reason its so good is because it has a killer vocal line and some decent lyrics to back it up but no real stand out moment in general. The rest of the album is fairly boring but not really bad. And overall we have a really great album that could have been perfect if he gave it the same amount of production as the Say Anything albums. But its just kind of in the middle now.
