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Review Summary: In case you were wondering, there's no bass. Dear Youth is a difficult album to listen to in its entirety. More than once I had to force myself to continue on to the next song, or even to finish a whole track without skipping the last half, and I don't think it's due to lack of talent from the band. If anything The Ghost Inside have proven that they know how to write a good hardcore song over the last 6 years and 4 albums. The musicians are all adept at their instruments, there's no one that stands out as not knowing what they are doing (save for vocalist Jonathan Vigil, more on that later). The real issue seems to be that not one song on the album seems really inspired and the result is an honestly boring album that you will find yourself wanting to turn off after just a few songs.
Even the first song on the record, "Avalanche," does nothing to draw you into the rest of what is to come. Its mix of fast paced verses and slower melodic choruses sounds exactly like everything else this band has ever done. Once you've heard it congratulations, because you have heard the rest of the album. Sure each track has its slight variations, Mercy is the “heavy song” that is certainly meant for kicking up live shows, Phoenix Fire is the “soft jam” that is meant to slow things down and make you think, “Wow, these guys sure are deep,” Dear youth is, “The single,” and sounds accessible for the masses, accordingly. There's just nothing here that makes you want to stick around for more, and therein lies the album's largest issue.
All the tracks on the first half of the album have about as much energy and excitement as a meatloaf. Sure its good, but its nothing new or fancy, nothing a fine dining restaurant would serve . Now that all being said, an interesting thing happens after song 6, Phoenix Fire, and that is that the rest of the songs are markedly more enjoyable than anything in the first half of the album. Dear Youth is, as I said, very much a single but it is at least fun to listen to. Next is Wide Eyed, and this is the first track that shows any kind of ambition or motivation on the album (8 songs in). It starts out and is refreshingly energetic, the guitars seem more present and playing more interesting things, it's the first time on the album you want to hear more. Half way through the song Jason Butler of letlive. Fame makes a guest appearance, and while his falsetto voice sounds a bit mismatched with the rest of the track, at least the band is trying out something different.
Jason Butler's guest appearance brings up a good point, in that his voice is a welcome respite from Vigil's monotonous yells. While the rest of the band showcase their talent throughout the record, the vocals fall flat nearly all the time. It just sounds exactly the same the entire time. No changing of range, no trying anything different with timing, just an annoying yell for 40+ minutes. The lyrics are also pretty standard, nothing here stands out as especially good, and there are more than a few clunkers that make you want to cringe. Just to give you a few examples: “There's a hurricane raging inside me!” “Hey! Hey! I'm living for today!” “This is me. This is you. Yeah, we're coming unglued.” There seems to be a lot of teenage angst in these lyrics, and for a band whose members are approaching 30, it seems forced. This remains a pretty large problem with the record and band as a whole and I think if they ever want to achieve anything other than middling success they need someone new, or at least a second vocalist to add some kind of variety.
There are many ways to measure an albums success. Number of records sold, number of people at live shows, amount of merchandise sold, exposure in publications. In all these ways Dear Youth will probably be seen as a triumph. The simplest measure of success, however, is will you listen to an album again? With as much music as there is today, is it worth your time to spend it listening to something you've already heard? In Dear Youth's case, the answer is a resounding no. When you can hardly make it through the album the first time it is difficult to imagine ever listening to it again.
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Album Rating: 2.5
Stream it here. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcZMZxR9uxC-cymOgTG7M9kAto9hmbWhR
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better than your last review so I'll pos. Well done
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no bass drop? neg
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Love the summary haha
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
One review a day dude. I'll be surprised if this is a decent review.
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"Dear Youth is a difficult album to listen to in it's entirety. More than once I had to force myself to continue on to the next song, or even to finish a whole track without skipping the last half,"
"The real issue seems to be that not one song on the album seems really inspired and the result is an honestly boring album that you will find yourself wanting to turn off after just a few songs."
"Album Rating: 2.5"
I hate to be the guy to come here and challenge your rating system and stuff, but don't you think a 2.5 for an album like this is a tad too high?
===
In which I try to be productive for once in my sputnik career. Please keep in mind english is not my first language.
"Even the first song on the record, “Avalanche”, does nothing to draw you into the rest of what is to come. Its mix of fast paced verses and slower melodic choruses"
"Sure each track has its slight variations . Mercy is the “heavy song” that is certainly meant for kicking up live shows, Phoenix Fire is the “soft jam” that is meant to slow things down and make you think “wow, these guys sure are deep;” Dear youth is “the single,” and sounds accessible for the masses, accordingly."
"There's just nothing here that makes you want to stick around for more."
{orphaned statement}
"Now that all being said, an interesting thing happens after song 6, Phoenix Fire, and that is that the rest of the songs are markedly more enjoyable than anything in the first half of the album. All the tracks on the first half have about as much energy and excitement as a meatloaf."
{didn't you think it'd be weird to reference the first half of the album and how boring it is before you discuss that first?}
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"Sure it's good, but you've had it about a billion times and it's just not something you crave."
{huh? what do you know about me}
"It starts out and is refreshingly energetic, the guitars seem more present and playing more interesting things, and it's the first time on the album you want to hear more."
"Half way through the song Jason Butler of letlive. fame makes a guest appearance, and while his falsetto voice sounds a bit mismatched with the rest of the track,"
"While the rest of the band showcase their talent throughout the record, the vocals fall flat nearly all the time."
{keep constant the grammatical tense within a single sentence pls}
"and for a band whose members are approaching 30, it seems forced."
{c'mon}
"The true measure of an albums success is a simple one, will you listen to it again? I guess you could say that sales of the album are a measure of success, or the feeling of a live show is as well, and you'd be right. The Ghost Inside have probably succeeded by those criteria. The simplest, however, remains the question of is the album worth a relisten. After that initial run through will you make time in your busy schedule of music to replay something you've already heard. The answer for Dear Youth is a resounding no. When you can't hardly make it through the album the first time it is difficult to imagine ever listening to it again."
{just re-write this}
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Appreciate the proof-read. I like how specific everything is untill the last paragraph, and then it's just, "Redo it all."
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
3spooky5me. I think it's time for that Ghost to go outside and get some fresh air.
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I think its time for that ghost to fly south for winter
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i think it's time to hang up the sheets
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Well this is disappointing
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
disappointing album
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"All the tracks on the first half of the album have about as much energy and excitement as a meatloaf."
fucking lol
Also a proofread would work, there's some sentence fragments and stuff.
These guys are boring imo. They would be a lot better if they just picked up some 17 year old hardcore kid off the streets for their vocalist.
"Yeah, let's all figure out our inner demons again! Let's throw stuff around responsibly! But don't forget to stay true to your family and friends and pay your taxes and respect law enforcement, yeah! Hardcore!" -The Ghost Inside
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pos'd btw
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Never really got into this band and probably won't any time soon, good review pos'd.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
you'd probably like returners or get what you give talons
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Returners more likely. Seems like GWYG is really jun heavy, even for them. I love it tho
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I'll probably start with Fury, everyone seems to like it.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
its a bands first album of course everyone likes it
lmao
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