I love writing about music, always have. I think at times I apply a healthy amount of creativity and ingenuity to describing what I hear. But sometimes, I just need to strip it all down and say "this record is fucking brilliant!".So, this record is fucking brilliant! Go ahead Epitaph Records and Set Your Goals, use that in your next bio or promotional piece! But, it truly is brilliant, what else can be said that can give the reader a sense of this amazing punk release. Well, lots, so here goes...
My feelings about this record are very much the same as the first time I heard "Dear You" by Jawbreaker. I knew right away that it was special and that it was going to be one of my all time favorites. To this day, "Dear You" ranks in my top 10 of punk releases and I suspect had a bit of influence on their fellow SF brethren SYG! Why is this album so special? Because it's got intricacy in all aspects of the music and voice. Intricate can be used to describe the background vocals, guitar lines, solos, lead singing and most certainly the percussion. This is pop-punk, but it's pop-punk with some teeth and depth to it. That's almost a disservice to call it pop-punk, it's probably more simply described as general punk with a wealth of influences from other genres. Believe it or not, you will hear melodic death metal and even some thrash in some of the tracks on "This Will Be The Death Of Us". To be clear, while you'll hear some Blink-182 influences, there is a harder edge to it. I guess on the punk spectrum, I would say it's closer to Rise Against than say All Time Low.
Let's begin at the beginning. I'm not one who easily falls for curb appeal, but in this case, I did. The packaging is great. The artwork itself, made me want to grab the record. Again, there's that intricacy to the artwork and overall design that I find captivating. I know, I know...intricacy and captivating, we're talking about punk, right? Yes, but this is thinking mans punk and it works!
The next thing that I really appreciated were the vocals; both lead and the gang background style vocals on the tracks. At first, I wasn't sure that I actually liked Matt Wilson's voice. It's kind of unique, in a Kevin Seconds sort of a way. When I first heard "Regress No Way", I was intrigued by the vocals and to this day KS is one of the best punk voices, ever! With Matt Wilson, I kind of thought the same thing but then I started to hear the range and rage and started to think I was listening to some vintage Zach De La Rosa. Go listen to "Gaia Bleeds" and tell me you're not thinking "Bulls on Parade". Yes, imitation is the highest form of flattery, but Matt does not imitate, he has created a great punk vocal experience on this record. Highlighting Matt's voice is by no means intended as disrespect to the other vocalist, Jordan Brown. He is solid as well, there is just something old-school about Matt's voice that pleases the ear!
Seems like there's a resurgence of hardcore background vocals on many a punk releases these days. Kind of like you are listening to a kinder gentler Madball or Cro-Mags, but with some seriously strong background voices. The new New Found Glory record does a lot of over-the-top vocals on several of their tracks. It kind of works in my mind and I appreciate what Hoppus and NFG were trying to do, but what really works on the SYG record is the solid and natural fit of the other band members group vocals. I don't think I remember or remark on many bands supporting cast voices, but this groups do stand out!
Then there is the guitar. In Flames made a hell of a career out of overlaying a strong guitar solo-like line on top of the songs melody. And as a result, they were true pioneers in melodic death metal. SYG achieves that same greatness, but on a punk release. It's very clever; how I can be listening to a track and totally focus on that guitar line, while still appreciating everything else that is going on in the song? Not sure, but it happens.
In general, the musicianship from these Bay Area lads is excellent. I'll give a special shout-out to Michael Ambrose. His drumming is phenomenal and reminds me a bit of some of the ground breaking stuff we heard from Travis Barker on the self titled Blink 182 release. "Gaia Bleeds" and the title track are two standout tracks where Mikey shines!
So, guess what children, I really like this record. It's a complete package. Punk, melodies, aggression, hardcore stylings, outstanding production, creativity, lyrics you actually want to read, everything. Well done! For a band that is becoming legendary in their touring efforts, it's nice to see those efforts rewarded with the full support of a great record label and management that has booked one of the summers best tours! Absolutely run out and see "The Gig Life" tour when it comes to your town. SYG is headlining, but you will see two other very strong, up and coming punk bands in Worcester's own Four Year Strong and Michigan's The Swellers. Side note: kudos to the talent department over at Fueled By Ramen. Signing The Swellers was brilliant (no I won't use another f-bomb here, I have a two f-bomb limit) and I hope they get the same kind of label support that Epitaph is giving SYG. I know they will!
Go Grab it at Amazon
or at iTunes
