Review Summary: Misery Made Me…confused.
I was talking to a friend about Silverstein the other day. He mentioned that he felt like they’ve always been teetering on the edge of a cliff in terms of quality. I don’t know if I disagree. While they’ve put out a slew of solid records, only two have really stuck out with me (Discovering the Waterfront and This is How the Wind Shifts).
So after the mess that was A Beautiful Place To Drown, I was somewhat hesitant to listen to this record. So hesitant that I waited a full two months before I had the courage to dive in. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised, only to be repeatedly reminded as to why I had discarded the band two years ago.
Fundamentally, the album is disjointed. As an example, the opening track was a perfect example of why I didn’t like A Beautiful Place to Drown, only to then be immediately punched in the face with “Die Alone,” which is unquestionably the best song on the record. The rest of the album follows suit. Absolutely banging segments followed by a slog of post-pop-something-core. It’s like they were trying to cater to everyone in the writing of this album, except the problem is that no one ends up being catered to due to the haphazard fashion in which it is pieced together.
Look, I get it. They’re in the 40s for Christ’s sake. If they want to play pop music and have a good old time, I can’t really blame them. But if they’re going to do that, they should embrace it. If they want to go heavy, then ***ing go heavy. If Meshuggah can still do it, so can they. The problem is that Silverstein doesn’t know which way to go, which results in something like a really cool looking car getting stuck in a five-way pileup at an intersection.
That’s not to say it’s all BAD. It’s not bad. Like I said, I enjoyed myself. It’s just confused, and therefore I’m confused. Hopefully next time they’ll have figured out which way they’re going.
