I'll pass. I like emo when it's done right. I really do. Hell, when it's really done right, I fucking love that shit. But this is pretty weak. First off, the recording is thin as hell, and that bothers me. The drums are pretty resonant, but the bass is nonexistent, the guitar tone lacks low-end, and the vocals also sound pretty flat. There's no roundness, no warmth to the tonality of the mix, and that leaves a big gap across the board. Don't get me wrong, there are some okay songs here. "White Butterflies" is a decent track that's moderately paced and more emphatic as far as melodies and the vocal performance, but a lot of this stuff is just sort of there. I don't hate it, but it does little for me. Do they want to be poppy, or do the want to be harder edged? They've got aspects of both, especially vocally with dominant singing and occasional screaming, but they don't pull off the blend all that well. The singing could be better, the screaming is generic and powerless, the calmer and more openly melodic chord progressions/passages are better than the slightly more abrasive guitar parts, etc. Some of the songs, like "Clarity", are rife with alternative radio ballad sounding riffs that are pretty painful, whereas some of the other tracks have some post-hardcore influences that I sort of like... it's just that the end result isn't catchy, nor is it particularly memorable. If they wrote good songs I wouldn't mind the redundant and generic riffs, but something about this just doesn't strike me. The layout's not bad. I don't really like Derek Hess' contributions because they just look too stale and similar to everything else he does, but the inner pages of the booklet look fucking awesome and that whole look would've been far more interesting were it used on the outer package as well. The imagery, textures, and arrangement are just bolder and more visually engaging. I'm not big on the lyrics, it's all personal stuff that deals with "last goodbyes" and whatnot, and one song is even titled after metaphorical white butterflies. No thanks. Victory really hit it big with a handful of these types of bands, but this is pretty piss poor compared to Thursday, Spitalfield, or Taking Back Sunday. Maybe it's time to move on, eh?
[Victory]
Running time - 34:33, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: White Butterflies, Show Me Your Cards]
Victory Records - http://www.victoryrecords.com
