Review Summary: Strike two.
Despite my (admittedly hamfisted) anger with Modern Baseball on their first full length, I had hopes for this album. The first single, "Your Graduation", carried an energy that I personally haven't seen yet. Brendan Lukens sings with an urgency, and the vocals from guitarist Sean Huber are passionate, angered. The track actually becomes something interesting, instead of simply relying on some quirky tempo change. I was hopeful that the band could create something truly great.
Unfortunately, I was wrong.
The biggest problem with You're Gonna Miss It All, and Modern Baseball in general, lies in the fact that the band refuses to establish their own distinct sound. Aside from cute mutters of spoken word between verses and the tired, bored voice of Brenden Lukens, nothing about this band stands out to me. They try too hard to incorporate their influences and touch all the bases that in the end, what's left is a collection of tracks that lack any cohesiveness. The songs "The Old Gospel Choir" and "Charlie Black" are the biggest head-scratchers for me. The former begins with a marching drum beat and Brenden singing through a tin can, which somehow makes further highlights how ill-fitted he is to be leading this band. After the intro, the full band kicks into a weird, swing-y chug. It's kind of awkward, about as much as I suspect Luken's love life is as well. The latter song, "Charlie Black", sounds like it was ripped off of some alternative metal album. Even over this extremely heavy riff, Brenden can't manage more than a whimper. It's also followed by the softest song on the album, which proved as smooth as a freight train to the face. The guitar in the beginning of "Rock Bottom" reminds me of Snowing's "Methuselah Rookie Card", which could have been intentional. Unfortunately, it only made me wish I was listening to a band with actual energy instead.
Even still, barring how uninteresting the overall piece is, I can't say that I found myself hating every moment. Coincidentally, every one of those fell exactly when Brenden wasn't singing. One of the only saving graces that this band has is the fact that they rarely make a song that goes nowhere. Sprinkled in are tempo changes, fun little spoken quips, and generally relatable lyrics give most songs on here a few moments of genuine enjoyment. As I mentioned, Sean Huber's vocals on this album are incredible. They're passionate, urgent, and fun. I can only hope this band makes the decision to give him more spots on whatever they move onto next. Most of the songs on here aren't anything offensive. Even if they're bland, cliched emo songs, they can still manage to be at least moderately enjoyable.
Modern Baseball is an enigma to me. Between the grating vocal style and jarring, confusing instrumental shifts, there are moments where the potential they have shines through...even if it's only for a few short seconds.
They're down in the count, but baseball is a game of chances. Hopefully their next swing will at least get them to first base.
