4.5 superb

John A. Hanson STAFF | March 13th 09

The most focused Trophy Scars outing yet (EP or otherwise), epic in scope yet smooth and incredibly listenable, "Bad Luck" shows the band treading into a slower groove, and creating more noteworthy "crescendos". While "Anna Lucia" is the most obvious standout, the trio of songs "Toronto", "Nola", and "Years so Much" (All six minutes plus) are excellent forays in odd song structures and musical and lyrcial tones. Straight off from "Bad Dreams" through "Good Luck", "Bad Luck" is the culmination of what one small punk band from Jersey can do with enough time and vision. Which is to say, a lot. 2 Bumps | Bump

0.0	HaloDude442 | April 22nd 09
Amazing. And I thought Hospital Music would never be touched or come close to by them. Bravo Trophy Scars, this is the album of a band that is in it for the music, not for the scene or money. A masterpiece, but only short of a classic because I still believe Trophy Scars can put out an even better album if they could go from Alphabets to this piece of musical bliss. Bump

4.0 excellent	wildu49 | April 19th 09
"Geneva", "Toronto", and "Nola" are masterpieces. Genius. Bump

4.0 excellent

fractured | March 26th 09

I am quite happy with this album. Some of the most fleshed out narrative lyrics I've heard in awhile. But I understand Greer's frustration in the sophomoric tendencies. They have a great flow going and the lyrics are inspired, and then the singer throws in some 15 year-old line that makes you say wtf. I've always liked a band that doesn't take itself too seriously, so I don't mind this. But I can see how a critic who wants a cohesive piece of work would fault it. I really like how the drummer plays almost every possible variation of 6/8 as well, but that's kind of a nerdy thing. Oh and win for the blues guitars and horns :-) Bump

5.0 classic

WoodLawn | March 13th 09

On Bad Luck, Trophy Scars seem to have dumped almost everything that once associated them with "standard" post-hardcore. There are no generic breakdowns (like in "No"), no catchy simplistic octave chord sections (like in "Assistants"), and no pure "screaming sections" (like in Lesson 3 and many others), and in their place lies something beautiful, organic and completely original. To put it bluntly, Trophy Scars have grown up. The first thing I noticed was the change in vocals. Jerry's love for Tom Waits is very evident here; his vocals sound downright filthy and grimy. A.J. had been dropped from the lineup, making room for two more guitarists/pianists, Adam Moutafis and Josh Wiseman (both ex-Maverick I believe), making for a grand total of three guitarists. Piano is present throughout the entire album, and horns, strings, and saxophone all make appearances as well. These ingredients coalesce into an extremely thick, multi-layered, complex sound, with "bluesy" lead guitar played over pretty much everything. The result is just gorgeous, and it all seems organic; nothing sounds tacked on (even the saxophone solos). Because of the sheer thickness of the sound on this record, this is a pretty complex album that might be inaccessible to many in the traditional post-hardcore scene. However, I can't remember a recent release that I have been so attached to. So do yourself a favour and buy it now. Don't just download it; they almost broke up over money problems before, let's not let it happen again. No worries though, you won't regret forking over $12 for an album of this caliber. Bump

4.5 superb

Scott Smith | March 13th 09

With "Bad Luck" Trophy Scars bring about a concept becides using A's and being very ambiguous about it's meaning. "Bad Luck" has many differnet styles used on it, also many different insturments. Piano is now fully played in just about every song, and at times they just don't sound like the Trophy Scars I grew up with. Jer's voice is very gruff in this album and he screams less than before. But does that make this bad? Naa Listen to it and decide for yourself. Bump