Review Summary: Conditions strives to mature but struggles with cohesiveness and repetition
For me, Conditions has always been a band that has written good songs but not particularly memorable ones. Fluorescent Youth was not an offensive album by any means, but its fatal flaw was that it far too safe for a genre which requires innovation to be noticed in the mass of similar bands.
With Full of War, Conditions seeks to differentiate themselves more from the pack and develop their own niche in the scene. Compared to Fluorescent Youth, Full of War is much more hook-driven, often depending on vocalist Brandon Roundtree to carry the song. The instrumentation on Full of War is a little bit lighter than on their previous album, with much more liberal usage of clean guitar. There is also increased diversity in the band’s instrumentation compared to Fluorescent Youth. Not every song depends on guitarist Alex Howard’s massive hooks - “Best Mistake” starts off with a bass and synth led intro and “Wonderful Lie” lets bassist Corey Thomas lead the song throughout the verses. These shifts in sound have moved Conditions a little bit away from the more Saosin influenced sound they were known for.
Unfortunately, Full of War still struggles with issues that prevent Conditions from reaching its potential.
The problem of safety from Fluorescent Youth still plagues the band. The album bleeds together at times. Songs often sound the same with the same verse-chorus-verse structure. The songs “Love Elusive,” “Every Day is a New Life,” and “Long Division” all use a similar “guitar with a delay pedal” intro. In general, there is quite a bit of repetition on the album, which can make it slightly fatiguing to listen to.
Another problem is that the album doesn’t feel particularly cohesive at times. Some songs feel like they would fit right in with Saosin’s S/T but others just feel like generic radio rock. It is similar to the aforementioned Saosin album, with the song “You’re Not Alone,” which never felt right in the context of the album. If Conditions cut out some of the slower songs, the album would feel better as a whole and perhaps be a little more memorable.
However, there’s also a lot to be said about Condition’s improvement. The production on Full of War is crisper and cleaner than on Fluorescent Youth, allowing for each instrument to shine in the mix. Roundtree sounds better than he ever has, Thomas has more of a presence than in the past and Howard’s leads no longer sound like they were taken directly off a Saosin album. Though there is no ridiculously catchy “Miss America” on Full of War, there are still many wonderful sing-along catchy choruses on this album.
Conditions has the talent and potential to be huge and if they can hit their stride on their next album, they will certainly will be. Though Full of War may not be all that it could be, Conditions has definitely grown with this album and will only continue to grow in the future.
Recommended Tracks:
“Walking Separate Ways” and “Skeleton” are a great 1-2 opening punch. The chorus in “Love Elusive” is a little different from what Conditions has done in the past. Roundtree sounds great in “The Descent of Man.”
