Review Summary: One of the finest debut albums of the last decade, it's one that shouldn't be overlooked by fans of post-hardcore, or in fact any genre associated with it.
During my youth I bought a lot of albums, most of them I hide away in my room, scared that one of my friends will see it when they come over. Among all those ***ty albums I bought way back, lies a classic, masterpiece. The album that introduced me to the so called post-hardcore genre. A genre I have came to adore over the years. 'Senses Fail' and 'Funeral For A Friend' being some of the frontrunners on my winamp most played, and for good reason. To this day I can still listen to CDADIC(Please, forgive my laziness) without being bored by it. It's one of those albums that I keep in my car for weeks, pumping it on full volume while driving to work. It is a modern post-hardcore classic for me. But what do I know? It's just my opinion. To the album now:
Opener 'Rookie Of The Year' is the perfect introduction to the album, showing the fine balance between heavy and melodic. It's by no means one of the best tracks, but it's still a solid song in it's own right. Moving to 'Juneau', a melodic sing along track, surely one of the standouts among the many great songs on the album. Some great guitar riffs and vocals, and a catchy chorus followed by a wonderful bridge. Excellent song. 'Storytelling' satisfies the eardrums with beautiful melodies, while 'She Drove Me To Daytime Television' gets the status of best track on the album. With drummer, Ryan Richards, adding some powerful unclean vocals, while Kris and Darren pull out some of the best riffs on the album.
But the song wich really showcases Ryan's full potential is 'Red Is The New Black'. He takes on the duty of lead vocals to great affect, while at the same time laying down some impressive drum work. But the standout performer on the record is clearly the talented, but underrated Kris Coombs Roberts. The album is filled with excellent guitar riffs, and you have got to compliment him on that. There's also some beautiful acoustic playing on 'Your Revolution Is A Joke', the album's 'soft' song. They made sure the album would end with a bang, and they managed that with 'Novella'. Another hard-hitter, which changes tempo in the middle, playing out with some catchy guitar melodies.
There is no filler to be found on here, all twelve tracks offer their own sort of excellence to the album. This is a piece of work that won't be reproduced by them or any other band in the near future. One of the finest debut albums of the last decade, it's one that shouldn't be overlooked by fans of post-hardcore, or in fact any genre associated with rock.
Recommended Tracks:
Juneau
Storytelling
She Drove Me To Daytime Television
Red Is The New Black
Waking Up
Novella
