Review Summary: With musical comparisons that can be made to early Brand New and Emery, Out Of Service is a band from NJ that everyone should be on the lookout for. This debut release is stunning and has some major chops
For those of you who have not heard of these guys, Out Of Service is an up and coming alternative rock band from New Jersey; featuring Kenny Bond on drums, Mike Capuano on vocals, Brian McGovern on bass, and Bryan and Teebs Williams on guitar. After reuniting in 2016 and releasing their EP 'What We Bring With Us' in 2017, these guys have been anything but out of service as they have played shows and worked hard on their first ever full length album; and their album Morning is available on their band camp (Out of Service - Morning) as well as on Apple Music and other streaming services. So without delay here is an iin depth look at Morning. Warning, this will be a bit longer than my usual reviews.
Kicking off the album with the title track 'Morning', this album begins with a gorgeous intro riff that sets the pace right out of the gate, and continues through the song with beautifully strummed guitars through the verses and brings back the intro for the choruses. Lyrically, this song paints a picture that fits in well with the album's cover art (which I love by the way), with these up beat lyrics such as the intro line of "The morning breaks, and I still find myself wrapped up in all the endless possibilities and I can't wait to find out what's in store for you and me.", and as the song continues and faces the sense of uncertainty of living life, there is a sense and passion of hope and stepping forward; standing tall and facing every day as a new morning. Laced with skilled instrumentals on drums, bass, and guitar; along with Capuano's impressive vocals of promise this song was a great way to start the album and sold me immediately on wanting to dive in. Next up is 'Just Between Us', lyrically one of my favorite songs on the album. Opening with a very cool guitar and bass line from both members, the lyrics to this song deal with dealing with the fear of abandonment from a loved one who you want nothing more than to keep with you, but the relationship is fractured and you are unsure if they will stay. "I don't know, can you even hear me? Did you already go? Please just tell me we'll change." Its lyrics like these that show a strength that Out Of Service have on this entire album, not just this song. Earnest, passionate lyrics dealing with real situations that are relatable and full of emotion.
There are musical comparisons one could draw to bands such as Emery and Brand New on this album; especially in the lead single and third track 'The Whole World'. Its lullaby like guitars and sung vocals in the verses sound very much like Emery, and the louder choruses are reminiscent of early Brand New. This is one of my favorite songs on the album, and its easy to see why it was chosen to be their first video. This song will get stuck in your head, the beautifully strummed guitars in the verses and how it shifts to a cool riff on the chorus, and the rhythmic singing of the verses with the thumping of drums behind it just makes for a well layered, passionate song about being trapped in your own life and the judgement of others around you while begging for some one to just help pull you out while the world around you crumbles. Following three amazing and melodic tracks, Out of Service takes it down a notch for a very beautiful acoustic ballad in 'Pillars' a song that has some of the most heartfelt lyrics on the album about a man who is depressed and feels isolated within in his own head, but even within the depression of oneself, there is always something like music by your side. Featuring a comparative chorus and verse; with the first verse and chorus being about the depression and how down you feel, and the second being about realizing that it does in fact get better and that music and loved ones will always be by your side.
This band has chops, musically and lyrically; if the lyrical themes of the past two songs prove the lyric part, the next song 'The Escape' is evidence of the former. After the smooth and soft, heartfelt Pillars, this song kicks off with probably the best intro on the album with a literally insane bass line that kicks into gear with impressive guitar and dynamic drums layering on top of it. This is a more aggressive songs on the track and the chorus is just intense, Capuano really sells this song, with some of his best vocal performances on the verses and chorus both. The outro to this song as well, is just as masterful and even more intense than the intro. If McGovern was the highlight of the intro, Williams gets his time to shine on the last 2 minutes of the song, building up into an insane guitar shred that really shows what they can do, strengthened by Bond's thumping drums before ending softly and quietly. I found plenty of musical moments to fall in love with on this album, that intro/outro being one of them, and the following song 'Blindly Accepting Broken Glass' being another, with a vicious intro and guitar riff in the choruses that almost reminds me of ITILIWFY era Senses Fail mixed with, again, Emery, and containing lyrics of broken promises and trust issues that anyone can relate to; also featuring another awesome outro shred by Williams. 'The Escape' and 'Blindly Accepting Broken Glass' are a great 1-2 punch combo on the album; and the third and knockout punch to is 'Two Anchors'. This song is by far the most aggressive song on the album, a song that demands your attention with lyrics about a broken relationship that you still find yourself weighed down to and grounded to. That despite life dragging you apart from someone and your courses in life changing, your ships seems drawn to collide every time. This one is the most 'Brand New' style song of the album, with vocal in multiple places that reminded me of them.
With four tracks left on this 11 track album, 'Between Cousins' makes sure to keep the wind in your sails going on the back half of the album, with a hefty and ferocious layered sound and lyrics dealing with addiction and how hard and self destructive it can be. This song kicks, and that is saying something after the last three song stretch this album had. This shows, if anything, Out Of Service knows how to sequence an album; there is never a dull moment on the album and nothing seems out of place. This is even true of the next track, 'Kestrel' which is the poppiest sounding song on the album and is definitely a jam. This song show cases the up beat, positive side of Out Of Service; with promising lyrics that are a call to arms that life is yours, and there is no time like the present to stop letting your future getting away from you, to change your destiny and make the ending of your story a better one. This song was a personal favorite to play in my car driving down the interstate with the windows down; this one has more of a pop punk influence than the tracks prior to it have, and is a good way to bookmark the final three songs of the album. Its positive, up lifting, and a song I can see people returning to when they are down in life and need a reminder that their destiny is their own. This more up beat sound continues with 'The Sun and The Sea', which invokes imagery of the album's cover art again musically, with gently plucked guitars and lyrics about falling in love and realizing that nothing else matters aside from that person you are with, that the rest of the world can pass you by as you get lost in that love; but you don't want to be found, because the world is much more beautiful with that person by your side. This one is a softer song and a ballad, and a definite stand out on the album for me. The album is closed out with 'The Thing We Want The Most', a simply beautiful song that shows off the talents of each and every member of Out Of Service, which is also the longest song on the album at 5 minutes and 38 seconds. The bridge to this song is simply gorgeous, with a soothing and relaxing melody that embraces the part of the song before it and leads to an incredible build up and pay off at the end of the song; something they do very well on this album.
There is not a bad song on this album, and that is why I felt that for this review I had to touch at least briefly on every song. Out Of Service really hit a home run with this album, and the hard work they have put into this album over the past year really shows in this effort. The lyrics are honest and real, which paint these earnest images of loss, fear, anger, love, and hope in your mind; and the musical prowess of the band allows for these lyrics to be supported and strengthened by very impressive and talented music. The album will get stuck in your head, and every time I listened to it I had a new favorite song to pick from. My top five stand out tracks from the album though were; 'Just Between Us', 'The Whole World', 'The Escape', 'Two Anchors', and 'Kestrel'. I look forward to seeing where this band goes, and I highly recommend that you check out this album on a streaming service of your choice; or support the band directly by buying it digitally or in physical form from them directly. Morning is a great first release from Out Of Service, and I look forward to more time with this album and seeing where they go from here.
