Bayside's debut, while competent, hasn't quite stood the test of time for me the way I thought it would. Thankfully, after a few minutes of adjusting, it would seem that this self-titled sophomore effort will fare a better fate. Admittedly I can't possibly help but cite that the band seems to be sounding more and more like Alkaline Trio these days, but whereas the latest Alkaline Trio record is a completely boring hunk of junk, this disc sees Bayside poised for what could be a considerable wave of success with some of their catchiest songs to date, building off of the same chunkily edged emo/indie rock heard on their first record. "Hello Shitty" opens up right away with an almost shockingly blustery one-minute run of catchy, pop-punk influenced material, but it's the misleadingly titled "Tortures of the Damned" that's the biggest hit for me with its chunky alternate picking patterns and dissonant melodies during the absolutely outstanding chorus. Even the slower and more restrained "They Looked Like Strong Hands", which borders on equating to an emo "power ballad", is pretty damn effective in its soaring vocal harmonies and plodding hits from the rhythm section. Later, "Half a Life" lets the heaviness shine through a touch more than many of the other songs with its midpaced tempo and thicker power chords, and all of this stuff is what helps to make this record a keeper. "Blame it on Bad Luck" drops some loosely influenced ska chords that open wide into a spacious distorted chord progression, though the quirkier rock side holds a sound dissimilar to most of these songs, and some of that also continues in the prominent bass runs and unique vocal arrangements during the verse passages of "We'll Be O.K." (an otherwise solid tune marred by immaturely frank lyrics during the chorus, which I'll quote later in the review). There are some unexpected little Iron Maiden gallop riffs with some dual guitar licks in "Devotion and Desire" that don't really fit, but they do kind of move away from that snippet really quick, which is a good thing. Some of the slightly longer or less zippy tracks later in the disc also provide somewhat of a minor lull, but even the longest songs have some strong lead melodies and catchy sensibilities here and there. I could definitely do without the piano, acoustic guitar, and vocal driven "Don't Call Me Peanut", as its dry recording and four-minute running time are entirely too over the top (maybe they could've made this work as the last track on the disc), but that's the only grievous error herein. Upon first spin the production feels like it needs a little more brightness to it, but I'm not so sure, as subsequent listens and around 10 minutes to get used to it makes things settle fairly well and sound pretty clear all around. The prominent singing and all of the vocal harmonies can be dominant at times, but that's a crucial factor for this style of music, so aside from keeping en eye on the volume I wouldn't mess with much of that at all. I definitely think there are some issues with the guitars requiring a little bit more of a high-end clarity and punch to keep them flying up above the relatively pulsing basslines and airy drumming, but they're damn close to the mark all around, and the subtle heaviness that the guitars possess is also essential. Like their last record, but to somewhat of a lesser degree due to a cheesy theme, the layout is nice and clean with an emphasis on solid photography and crisp text arrangements. Lyrically it's all personal trauma and whatnot with a penchant for overbearing honesty and occasional attempts at wit that are sort of lost on the commonplace bluntness of the subject matter that damn near every band of this nature hits on ("We both got what we wanted. I got sex and you tasted fame." Ehhh, no thanks, kids.), but what can you do? Regardless, I like catchy songs and this disc has catchy songs aplenty, so while I still believe the band could do better (or perhaps push for more originality, though that's not really necessary), this is a clear step up from their debut, and hopefully that progress will continue. There are some great songs here.
[Victory]
Running time - 40:47, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Hello Shitty, Tortures of the Damned, They Looked Like Strong Hands, Half a Life]
Victory Records - http://www.victoryrecords.com
