Of Mice & Men - Cold World

If something in 2016 earns the privilege of being tagged as "nu metal", you know it's going to be a disaster. Of Mice & Men have done it. 2013's Restoring Force was a powerful and emotional record, full of anger and loss. You could feel its big moments bombarding you and you'd remember them vividly.

Their fourth album Cold World is not Restoring Force. It doesn't even sound like Of Mice & Men. It's a bunch of songs that bring to question where the line is drawn between "influenced by" and "copied from". It started with the lead single 'Pain' (see our review of it here), which basically ripped off the old sounds of Slipknot, probably so that they could appease the crowds of their opening slot with them. It only gets worse.

I've never heard an album where every song sounds like a carbon copy of a different artist. I'm really not sure what they were doing here. The album starts off with 'Game Of War', which is literally just a worse version of Puscifer's 'Grand Canyon'. It's an awful intro, too - it's four minutes long and incredibly underwhelming. 'Real' features Austin Carlile singing, which is cool, if it wasn't clearly trying to be a heavier version of Minutes To Midnight-era Linkin Park. Maybe the boys spent a little too much time with them on tour in 2014... There's also the complete mess of a Limp Bizkit song with 'Relentless'. It's the most nu-metal thing to be released since nu-metal died. That is not good.

To it's credit, it's not completely horrible. Just mostly. 'Like A Ghost', the one track on the album I can actually say has some substance. Aaron Pauley's singing in the verses are a bit odd (it sounds like he's trying to imitate Marilyn Manson), but Austin Carlile screams powerfully in the background as he sings, making those powerful accentuations that made a lot of the vocals on Restoring Force so great. It's the first energy with raw energy, too, but it's a bit too late. By the time you get to this song you've already lost hope in the album. At least the interlude '+' has nice strings.

When the band isn't copying another, the tracks are just painfully average. There is absolutely nothing special in songs like 'Down The Road' and 'Away'. They're boring. They don't even have the quality of another band for fans of that particular band to enjoy. The album ends on 'Transfigured', sounding like even they gave up on this record. Where is the soul of the album? What happened?

It doesn't feel right to assign blame to any band member; after all, an album has to be a team effort. But it's hard to ignore the overwhelming presence of Aaron Pauley on the album. It feels like he took this album over. It has his sweet singing parts that featured in a few tracks on Restoring Force (most of which were really great) and gives himself a part in almost every song. It feels less like an Of Mice & Men record and more like a demo CD of a solo Pauley record. His highlights on Restoring Force were so good because they were refreshments between brutal screaming and metal tracks. Now that he's in literally every song, it's hard to enjoy his voice, which is a true shame. Of Mice & Men has Austin Carlile for a reason, and it's not to make him sing. It's to let his screams make the music stronger and more vivid. Why silence him?

Cold World feels like a step in the wrong direction. It's hard to even call it an Of Mice & Men record - it sounds like Aaron Pauley featuring a backing band and a guest screamer sometimes. It's a sad and boring record. It's nu-metal moments don't help, either. Of Mice & Men had finally found their signature sound, and after building on it for a single album, they dropped it almost completely. The only response I have to this record is a question: why?

Favorite Track: Like A Ghost

Least Favorite Tracks: Relentless, Down The Road, Transfigured, Away

Rating: 52 / 100

Bastille - Wild World

Bastille has always had a cult following which was only amplified by 2013's "Pompeii" and debut Bad Blood. The success of the single and album brought them a whole new sense of success. 2016 brings their follow up to their debut; sophomore record Wild World, and it's just as strong, if not even stronger than its predecessor.

Wild World is simply a lot of fun. It's full of groove and indie flair that make for many indie pop and rock jams. It begins with the dinky and funky 'Good Grief' complete with a dancey chorus and snaps. The sweeter yet grittier 'The Currents' follows it, this time using slightly distorted string punches to add to the warm vocals. The vocals are brought further with sweet lyrics about being swept away from love. The sweeter and lighter songs on the record act as a counter for the more upbeat and excited tracks: 'Two Evils' has beautiful jazzy, reverberating guitar and falsetto vocals which gives it a certain appeal you can't find on the higher energy tracks.

The best songs on this album are the songs that build up. It starts with 'An Act Of Kindness', beginning quietly with a piano before vocalist Dan Smith sings sweetly above them. The chorus kicks in with brilliant harmonies and a pulsing synth that resonates into the next verse. This album has a lot of lo-fi moments that are added in and really add a lot of flavor to some of the more heavily produced moments, and it's a really refreshing contrast. This song has these lo-fi string punches in the last chorus which builds in a beautiful wall of noise that concludes with Smith's harmonies. 'Four Walls (The Ballad Of Perry Smith)' is another example of the building excellence. This one has a slower and more subtle build, ultimately leading to a brilliant guitar solo at the end. This song feels like ends before it really hits that big moment, sadly. The "carry it with you" parts are absolute bliss. Those can't be forgotten.

Aside from build ups and indie flairs, there are some real rocking jams on this record. 'Blame' is the clearest example, the song starting off big and confidently with that giant riff. The chorus explodes with huge drums and epic guitar, and made all the more epic by the motivational lyrics: "Fall upon your knees  / Sing ‘this is my body and soul here’ / Fall upon your knees/ Sing ‘you’ve got the power and control’ / Don’t pin it all on me". 'Power' also finds a lot of its energy originating from the guitar. Besides guitar, brass plays a big role in the record's core; songs that are brought up by fat brass moments include the electrifying 'Send Them Off!' with its giant chorus and the beautiful 'Oil On Water' which pairs the brass and orchestras of the record in one track. 

There are a few moments that are a bit disappointing on the album, though. One of them was that 'Four Walls' concluded just as the solo seemed to start moving (as previously mentioned). It felt like the song was about to go somewhere huge before it was stopped by an interlude. The interlude seems to fight itself with what it wants to be. The album cover and the interludes indicate the band wanted something cinematic and dramatic. While those qualities are true of some songs, there are a lot of moments where it seems that theme is masked by the necessity of a big stadium-filling presence. The end of the main album especially seems to have that issue, and it results in a lot of very average indie pop tracks that take it out on a very dull note considering all of the character the rest of the album had.

Bastille's sophomore record is a great example of a band progressing and evolving. Their debut gave them publicity as well as a foundation of works to come. Lots of bands have albums that either try to so something completely different or something that's too similar to the former. Bastille used the defining elements of Bad Blood, added their new experiences into them, and created Wild World. If the band is capable of doing that, I'm exited what to see what they do next. The future's looking bright for them.

Favorite Tracks: Send Them Off!, An Act Of Kindness, Two Evils

Least Favorite Tracks: Winter Of Our Youth, Snakes

Rating: 79 / 100

La Femme - Mystére

In listening to music that is sung in a different language than one in which you are fluent in, things can seem a bit overwhelming. What you tend to tune into with foreign music like this is the melodies and the instrumental. As an American, that's what I went through listening to La Femme's new album Mystére.

Taking French classes throughout my life, I was able to piece bits and pieces together, but after summer break I've been a bit rusty. So while I can pick out words and phrases, I can never substantiate a meaning, leaving the instrumental to do all of the talking. With this album, though, it leaves me wondering if the meaning of the words is what makes these songs.

Mystére is the band's sophomore release, and for what it's worth, it continues to showcase the band's diversity. Almost every track is something different - opening number 'Sphynx', the album's gem, builds over its five-minute length with rising and falling synth arpeggios forming an electronic storm. The next song 'Le Vide Est Ton Nouveau Prénom' then sees an acoustic instrumentation, sounding almost like an old baroque piece. Later pieces are more experimental, such as the hauntingly orchestrated 'Al Warda' and the indie pop flair of 'Tatiana'.

While it has diversity, it doesn't necessarily have quality. After the album's strong start is masked by a plethora of forgettable and seemingly filler tracks. It's beginning appeal doesn't even last all that long; by the fourth song 'Septembre' you have to ask if you've accidentally stumbled onto a children's French album instead of an impressive electronic experience.

Experimentation and diversity is welcomed, if not encouraged, on any album. The only restriction should be if you can create something still cohesive and good. This album is all over the place and that really brings it down. There's just a lot of things to question on this record, including the drawn out, thirteen minute track 'Vagues'. It really doesn't need to be that long.

La Femme may be an important band for France's indie scene, but this album is simply a mess. The ideas are all there, and they could've been great, had there been more cohesion between tracks. Mystére feels lost in its own execution. Before they progress further, they need to step back and tackle one thing at a time and really nail that. Then figure out how to blend styles into a cohesive experiment.

Favorite Track: Sphynx

Least Favorite Tracks: Septembre, Vagues, S.S.D.

Rating: 61 / 100

The Warlocks - Songs From The Pale Eclipse

The Warlocks have covered a lot of ground spanning their nearly two decade long career. They started off with long, drawn out jams spanning well over ten minutes. The eventually began shortening the lengths of their tracks in favor of something more confined. Their 7th album Songs From The Pale Eclipse is full of mid-tempo, condensed psychedelic rock tracks that the band has evolved to make, but none of them really amount to much.

Psychedelic rock's purpose is to take you on some sort of trip. This album doesn't feel like a psychedelic rock record as much as it does a full hour's study on the same mood. The one track on this album that feels definitively like a psych rock track is 'I Warned You' that finds itself spiraling with keyboards and harmonicas by its end. The album is otherwise a bluesier record, which in theory wouldn't be a problem.

Sadly, the problem in lies in the fact that the album pretty much sounds the same throughout its entirety. It's not until the final two tracks you can finally say "That's new." The album's opus 'Lonesome Bulldog' provides a hopeful outlook on the rest of the album, the Nirvana-esque approach to the guitar that ultimately builds to a powerful guitar solo to carry the track to its end. Everything this album wants to say is taken care of within the first songs. The opening number 'Only You' sets the dark tone of the record, and 'Lonesome Bulldog' sets the sonic scene the rest of the album wishes it could replicate.

For what it's worth, the lyrics on this album do shine at points. The main lyrical success is 'Drinking Song', a song that begins off by singing off the joys of drinking with drunkenly sung lines such as "All alcohol, he never pretends / Bet you're gonna meet a million best friends," before it relapses on itself and speaks of the horrors of it: "So many times I wanna give you up / Especially when I'm so fucked up / So many lives you've taken without regret / Won't be the first time or last to give you up." The song's bridge consists of a guitar solo that sounds as equally defeated as the vocals do, before the song somberly ends with vocalist Bobby Hecksher whimpering away as alcoholism takes him away.

The longest song on the record, 'Dance Alone' also has something interesting going on it, and that lies in the song's reminiscent composure. It clocks in at six minutes, half the length of the band's older jam songs that sound much the same. The song has multiple different pieces to it that reprise themselves throughout, including the bubbly guitar parts in the verses and reverberating guitar chords that build the choruses. It feels like a nice little moment of appreciation for their past. While it's not really a special track in the album, it does have that interesting quality going for it.

Songs From The Pale Eclipse is a chill album, but there's little incentive to listen to it after the first two or three songs. Everything pretty much sounds monotonous. You start at the beginning and tune out until the end, where 'I Warned You' brings real psychedelic rock to the table and 'The Arp Made Me Cry' takes the album out on a somber note. You can tell The Warlocks tried here, but they really didn't find much ground. The same general idea is used throughout most every song and for that, this album ends up feeling dull. The band's definitely capable of bigger and better things; let's hope this isn't the start of a downfall.

Favorite Tracks: Lonesome Bulldog, Drinking Song

Least Favorite Tracks: We Took All The Acid, Easy To Forget, Special Today

Rating: 64 / 100

Eluvium - False Readings On

Ambience is a beautiful thing. It is often said that nature's noise is the Earth's music, and that's very true. Ambient music is something thought-provoking, often times in emotional ways. It's simplistic, yet in all of its sonic soundscapes it invokes something within its listener.

Eluvium's newest record False Readings On is a masterful collection of drone and ambience. It's not complex but it says all that it needs to be creating beautiful imagery in its minimalism. The album shows his mastery of noise and his ability to create brilliance out of almost nothing.

People who don't like ambience music either don't understand its capabilities, or simply are finding the wrong examples of it. False Readings On shows the brilliance that ambient and drone music can do. It gets off to a peaceful beginning with 'Strangeworks' before diving into 'Fugue State', a slow-moving, churning track that reminds me of the innerworkings of a machine. It has that somber, black and white factory vibe within it that puts you in a cold, foggy winter's day. 

Some tracks aren't so much setting as they are putting you into a certain state. 'Movie Night Revisited' is a calming and nostalgic track - it seems to try and put you into the place where you can relive a close memory. It's followed by 'Beyond The Moon For Someone In Reverse', which then sets you into the scene of a foggy day at sea - a perfect place to reflect quietly to yourself. Nothing's around you, no one near you. It's just you and your thoughts in the middle of an endless beyond. 

The album's ending is where it feels closest to heart. 'Rorschach Pavan' feels slightly more positive than much of the rest of the record, with rich synths and layered punches of sweet noises build into a beautiful, warm texture. 'Individuation' follows up as one of the most sweet tracks on the record. It's simply just piano playing in the rain. It's a simple song, no tricks or strings attached to it. Its brilliance comes in that bittersweet feeling that comes with the rain and the innocence of the piano. Midway through the track, quiet footsteps can be heard as faraway brass accentuates the track. The album ends on 'Posturing Through Metaphysical Collapse', a song that ends the album with a sort of peaceful chaos. It begins in an operatic way, and eventually starts breaking down into a scathing white noise, as if it was collapsing in on itself. Then finally, when the song has finishing imploding within itself, it ends as calmly as it began, and the album is over. 

Eluvium's on his eighth album now, and yet his quality hasn't faltered a bit. False Readings On isn't a masterpiece, but it's a powerful record and will hit you. Each song isn't a wallowing wall of noise, but rather simplistic concoctions of emotion and scenery. It's proof that drone music isn't just noise - it's art.

Favorite Tracks: Individuation, Rorschach Pavan, Movie Night Revisited

Least Favorite Tracks: Drowning Tone, Washer Logistics

Rating: 70 / 100

clipping. - Splendor & Misery

Concept albums are great in theory, and often times prove to be phenomenal in execution. When an album has a narrative or an overarching story or meaning, it's so easy to get invested in them and engrossed in its message as if you were reading a novel. The best examples in recent times are Dream Theater's The Astonishing, a dystopian tale of love and war, and Muse's Drones, a commentary on the increasingly heartless ways of drone warfare. Sure, we don't have any legendary concept albums like Pink Floyd's The Wall knocking at our doorbells every year, but there are still definitely standouts that show up.

Of course, on the other side of things, there will be flops; and trust me, there are few things worse than a failed concept album. Unfortunately, that's what experimental hip-hop clipping. has achieved with their newest record, Splendor & Misery. 

It went for something interesting, and it deserves at least that much credit. It's story follows the sole survivor of a slave rebellion that's traveling through space on his Interstellar cargo ship. In his thoughts of loneliness (besides the ship's computer that has fallen in love with him), he discovers music in the ambience of the ship's creaks and shudders. Unlike the classic representations of anthropocentric insignificance in the face of an endless space, the main character finds comfort in knowing there's an infinite realm of possibility ahead of him, without the pressures of mankind bearing down on him.

While the story may seem fresh, the music that tells it really isn't. In an album of fifteen tracks, it's split almost half and half - eight "proper" tracks and seven interludes. The interludes add up to pretty much nothing more than unneeded ambience. The intro track 'Long Way Around (Intro)' hypes up the record nicely, segues into a confusingly fast verse (not in the line of Eminem, but more in the line of someone reading an instructions manual really fast) that is all of 'The Breach' before the first real track begins, and it's really underwhelming. 'All Black' sounds like somewhat of a mission objective being explained, and at six-minutes long, it just drones on and on. 

There are some good moments on the record, but most are ultimately ruined by something in the end. Take 'Break The Glass' for example, it's a pretty solid track with a haunting instrumental (sounds like that's the engine room of the ship) and distorted verses that build up into an almost industrial rap track. Of course, they had to end it with an ear piercing screeching that is pretty painful to listen to, but at least the meat of the song is good. There are some great gospel moments on the record too, but they're used as individual tracks, and I have absolutely no idea how they fit into the album. 'Long Way Away' and 'Story' are the tracks that consist of these. 'Long Way Away' eventually distorts into white noise while 'Story' follows the piercing noise at the end of 'Break The Glass'.

The only track on the album that really doesn't have a problem surrounding it is 'A Better Place'. It's the album's closure and it feels like an appropriate ending to the narrative and the record. It's upbeat with its proud organs and vocals, resonating hope and an challenging disposition to the frontier ahead of the escaped slave. It's a shortlived victory, though, since the album ends right as it gets off onto a good footing.

Perhaps a concept album just wasn't the right move for clipping. It's interesting to see that the group that usually raps about monotonous stories of living in the hood can branch out into this weird, afrofuturistic story about escaping the world. Granted, the music doesn't really support the effort put that narrative. No tracks really do well as a standalone item, and few of them actually do well in the context of things. But hey, they tried, right? Can't fault them there.

Favorite Tracks: A Better Place, Break The Glass, Long Way Home

Least Favorite Tracks: EVERY Interlude.

Rating: 30 / 100

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Pretty Years

Cymbals Eat Guitars are not ones to typically settle for the standard. They're often caught in a quest to become part of a dichotomy of originality amongst the indie rock scene. Their blend of showgaze with indie elements has always made them a strong force.

Their last record was 2014's LOSE, a critically acclaimed record for the band. Often hailed as one of their best, it came with hardships. Those challenges served as an inspiration for their new record, Pretty Years. Vocalist and guitarist Joseph D'Agostino explained: "In a dark moment on tour for LOSE, I said something to [bassist Matt Whipple] about losing my pretty years quickly because of touring, how the lifestyle ages you." He continued, "Months later when we were writing for the record, he came to me with the lyrics for that chorus and I wrote the song around them." These sentiments of a hard time on the road are what gave birth to the track '4th Of July, Philadelphia (Sandy)'.

Pretty Years is very much an of-this-moment record. It seems to capture the present in order to let go of the demons of the past. Closure track 'Shrine' is the climax to message, where D'Agostino chants of running away from the pressures of reality in order to come to terms with his past. The sentiment of this album being a very present-oriented one also became clear in the studio; discussing the recording of the album, D'Agostino claimed, "With this record... I think we nailed it this time. First or second takes of everything, real hunger in the performances. Just something to prove," the nature of the record becoming clear from the start, not just by meaning but spiritually for the band.

It's unique qualities become most clear in the track 'Wish', which is dominated by screeching saxophones, harmonizing in the most tortured of ways, seemingly not by intention. The powerful build leads to a squeaky ending but it's hard to escape the demanding brass that carries the track through. 'Dancing Days' also provides something new, and sitting at the center of the album, definitely becomes its core. It gets off with a slow start with splashy keys before exploding in the chorus with massive drum fills delivered by Andy Dole. The song is a cumulation of excellence from the band, as the song bursts into its emotional conclusion with D'Agostino yelling "Goodbye to my pretty years."

As personal as it sounds, it does leave something to desire after the end. Previous efforts from the band felt fulfilled. This album seems to go through moments of shine but at the end, it's only isolated moments you can remember that bring the album together. While explosive and definitely a jam, for example, the punk rock attitude of 'Beam' feels like less of a part of the record as it does a filler to provide some energy mid-way in. It's especially at the ending of the record before it's conclusion that the album seems to lose momentum, and that starts with 'Beam'. 'Mallwalking' is a slow mover, almost dramatic. It has a cool guitar going on in it but it's meaning seems lost in that disposition. It's a bit awkward coming out of 'Beam', but the lyrics seem to at least attempt to bring it back into the course of the record. 'Well' is also a good track, but feels simply out of place. Outside of the album's meaning, it's still one of the standout tracks with a poppy start that makes way for a big ending and fantastic buildup.

Cymbals Eat Guitars' approach to Pretty Years was spontaneous, and more of a release of emotions than a busywork record. It's personal for the band, for sure, and that comes off in a lot of tracks. It seems to lose sight of that at times, though, and becomes nothing more than a throwing out of emotions in an aimless fashion. It may not be as cohesive as other records, but it feels like the album the band needed.

Favorite Tracks: Dancing Days, Wish, Well

Least Favorite Track: Beam

Rating: 71

Angel Olsen - My Woman

There's somewhat of an "indie girl syndrome" going around music lately - all of these indie rock bands popping up led by a woman have the same exact voice. Angel Olsen gives us a refresher from that scratchy, tired vocal style. Her third record My Woman is both a solid indie record with originality and a compliment to her career.

Fans of Olsen may go into this record expecting someone along the lines of the crunchy production style of her sophomore effort, Burn Your Fire For No Witness. This album takes into account something that was brewing since the start of her career. Under the thick production of her last two records was a clean side of her grunge and pop rock flair. The grit of her music is mostly gone and replaced with a new sense of writing and artistry.

My Woman is a songwriter's album at its core, the vocals and messages being backed by other instruments not out of necessity, but rather for accentuation. The album is separated into two halves: a pop rock half with more radio-friendly numbers, and a back half with more personal and grabbing tracks. The first track is 'Intern', a sweet track backed by synths that's a lot shorter than you'd wish it'd be. It's followed by the lo-fi and nostalgic 'Never Be Mine'. The guitar progresses from being a light backing number to the driving backbone of the song in an awesome buildup from beginning to end. Another highlight of this half of the record is the Nirvana-esque 'Give It Up' - I can't help but feel like the song should start with "I'm so happy, because today I found my friends" rather than the message of hate sent to past loves.

The second half of the record isn't as upfront as the first half is. It takes a step back from the ballad tracks and instead focusses on songwriting and reflection. It's start is marked by 'Heart Shaped Face' which is almost like a twangy slow dance. This song really starts the point where we see Olsen broaden her vocal variety, of which there is a lot of on this record. Her approach is very folky on this track, while in 'Those Were The Days', for example, her vocals are very jazzy. The album ends with the somber 'Pops' - it's the most stripped down track on the record and is the appropriate amount of reflection to end the record with. It's sad about the loss of a relationship and it's one of the most relatable tracks on the record. It's hard to not feel a familiar sadness listening to this track.

The true gem of the record, though, is 'Sister'. It is one of two tracks (the other being 'Woman') that clocks in at over seven minutes, and it's really a journey. The song goes through what Angel Olsen would tell her sister (if she had one - Olsen was adopted at the age of three) as she grew up. Olsen describes how this image of a sister helped shape her own life and how there was always a light at the end of the tunnel when she wasn't sure there was. The track has the build of a Fleetwood Mac track, folky and bluesy guitar et al, as it builds up to a more driven track with punchy piano and a truly electrifying guitar solo with Olsen belting in the background to bring the song to an epic and emotional climax.

There's little to complain about with Olsen's new record. The only sad part is that the first half of the record seems weak compared to the emotions of the second half. My Woman is a musical accumulation of who Angel Olsen is. This album is her soul and her spirit. The album is almost like a life lesson, or, for Olsen, a reflection on who she's become and how she got here. It's beautiful and provides for a very revealing experience. My Woman isn't just one woman; it's the experiences that everyone goes through, and delivers one message: you are a product of yourself.

Favorite Tracks: Sister, Pops, Never Be Mine

Least Favorite Track: Shut Up Kiss Me

Rating: 85 / 100

A Day To Remember - Bad Vibrations

The pressure is on for A Day To Remember with the sixth album into their career. They've met a lot of positivity as well as some mixed-reviews throughout the years, and it seems like everything has led up to their newest record, Bad Vibrations. Good on them, though, as it does not disappoint.

First and foremost, this album has some banging riffs. The first track, the eponymous 'Bad Vibrations', starts off a bit too edgy with some pretty wretched screaming, but makes up for it later on with blistering guitars and a belligerent ending. The main problem in this track is the mastering; it feels like it could have just a little more punch to it. The problem resolves itself in the next track 'Paranoia', the verses of which harken to Nine Inch Nails' 'March Of The Pigs'. The lead into the chorus seems to explode quickly then immediately returning to the appropriate mixing - I'm not sure if this is a mixing problem or a artistic choice, but it doesn't resonate right. Luckily, the song has enough punch to it to carry it through. The ending of 'Exposed' is massive and unpredictable - it explodes out of nowhere and takes the track from being an okay one to a huge one. The same is true in the following track 'Bullfight' - cool verses followed by an explosive ending. 'Reassemble' is big in a different way, the atmospheric intro leading into evil sounding riffs that resolves into a sweet, retrospective acoustic ending.

The other half of the record is composed of ballads and songs not riff-oriented. The first of these tracks is 'Naivety', and it doesn't offer up anything too special. It sounds like a standard alternative rock ballad from the 2000s. The ending where Jeremy McKinnon sings, "What I hate about getting older / Where's my naivety," is a pretty weak and even annoying way of ending the song. 'Justified' suffers in almost the reverse way; instead of having one really bad part and the rest being standard song, it starts incredibly promising with a unique start not yet heard on the record and just becomes another standard song for the rest of its play time. If they had kept the mood of the beginning going throughout the song, it could've been a lot better. 'Same About You' is a rockier track without any big riffs, and instead highlights the melodies - the vocals on this track are phenomenal.

The last song on the record is the orchestral 'Forgive and Forget', the most sentimental and powerful track on the album. The first half of the track consists of McKinnon's clean and somber vocals, rolling drums, light guitar, and a beautiful orchestra. The song buildups, the second verse adding a more prominent guitar lead before the song bursts into a big dramatic ballad ending without sacrificing the momentum or the mood of the track. 

My main gripe with the record is that a lot of it sounds the same, or works in the same manner. They go for big explosive endings in the heavier tracks while they rely on the mood of the tracks in the softer ones to carry them through. The heavier tracks are awesome and fun, but they really don't hit much ground until they hit it big with their endings. The softer tracks all have that same vibe, as well (barring 'Forgive and Forget' - that one's perfect, and it becomes stale and repetitive after awhile. I'm thankful that they're all separated at least a little bit - most albums would bunch all of these similar sounding tracks together and that would make it all the more boring. There's also an immature or sometimes non-existent regard the band gives in some tracks; 'We Got This' (though the buildup and piano are nice) and 'Turn Off The Radio' are examples. The latter of the two has a silly sentiment on top of things, but the actual music gives it some credibility.

A Day To Remember may not be a perfect album for the band, but it's a solid one all the same. It has a lot of powerful tracks with big riffs as well as soaring melodies. However, on the same side, many tracks leave a lot left to be desired. It has its highs and lows, but Bad Vibrations has good intentions at its core. It needs variation is all. Hopefully the next album takes that into account.

Favorite Tracks: Forgive and Forget, Exposed, Same About You

Least Favorite Tracks: Naivety, We Got This

Rating: 79

Dreamers - This Album Does Not Exist

Indie rock has seen massive growth the last few years, spawning some legendary bands. While this may only be their first record, indie rockers Dreamers have garnered a lot of attention lately. Their debut This Album Does Not Exist is out now and it's long overdue.

You won't be seeing a complete reinvention of the genre in this album, but you will find an album that solidifies itself as a statement in the genre. This Album Does Not Exist is a very fun-loving album, having a fresh continuity throughout it's playtime that doesn't falter at all. It starts with the banger 'DRUGS', the song that sets the momentum for the entire record. It's a fun rock track that shows the band's ability to vibe out and enjoy their music. It doesn't feel forced or tense, as if the expectations for the band are stacked against the them. It's free. While some bands may feel pressured on their first release, Dreamers bursts confidently into this new frontier.

This album is fun but also dark at times - 'DRUGS' has a fun composure but the lyrics are a bit dark; while it's mainly about having fun, it does have undertones of addiction in it. It's hard to pinpoint these moments, since the album is so upbeat. 'Painkiller' is the same in that way, the punchy track having undertones in its meaning. It's so fun sounding, though, that you won't really get that while jamming out to it.

The underlying messages mean almost nothing here, though; the positivity of the record makes it too enjoyable for you to have to concern yourself with them. 'Sweet Disaster' starts to move away from the pure rock sound and adds in some electronic elements - the great guitar line is and an underlying synth boosts the track a little further. The older track 'Wolves (You Got Me)', which could be found on the band's sole EP release, has sweet crooning vocals from vocalists Nick Wold and a high synth that soars above the guitar riffs.

It's only the start of the record that's truly special, sadly. The latter half of the record is just... average. By the time 'Cry Out For Me' comes around, it's at the point where you're telling yourself "well, okay. I've heard this already." It's not that any of the tracks are bad by any means, they're all still fun and enjoyable, it's just nothing new from what you've heard earlier on the record. You get the wildness of 'Shooting Shadows' and the Nirvana-esque intro of 'Come Down Slow' that support the record's fun until the end. The only low moment I'd say is 'Lucky Dog' - it still carries the vibe, but it sounds just a tad too pretentious.

Dreamers has a swagger to them you can't find anywhere else. This Album Does Not Exist may not break any barriers but it does solidify their career. It's a successful and fun album, their somber 80s rock vibes meeting a modern touch. Dreamers are off to a great start with their full length debut, and they'll have everyone excited for the next one.

Favorite Tracks: Painkiller, Sweet Disaster, Shooting Shadows

Least Favorite Track: Lucky Dog

Rating: 73 / 100