by: Alex Mayfield
Max Bemis, frontman for Say Anything, is back once again with another installation of his life. “Say Anything” fits this band in the most honest way possible. They are back with their self-titled, fourth studio album where Bemis, who is a little bit calmer, puts everything out into the open once again. I say he is calmer even as he spouts off his hate for everything imaginable (Hate Everyone). Bemis is someone who is very willing to tell you the world as he sees it, and the album (and the band) is better for it. My one problem with past Say Anything albums, such as …Is a Real Boy and In Defense of the Genre is the fact that they try to shove so much onto one album that they add a lot of fillers. I was pleasently surprised that this album wasn’t a 25 track album and that SA decided to lose the songs that take up space.
Since the beginning, Bemis has thrown his entire life into his records, with songs on past albums about his break down on his tour bus, drugs, and medical issues. He depicts his life and soul through out this album and he shows he is in a place of acceptance of what he does. Such as his thoughts on Kings of Leon (Mara and Me), the way he beckons the love of his life into a back room to sleep with her (She Won’t Follow You), and how he knows all women are objects (Property). The fact of the matter is that Bemis’s twisted world and lyrics, backed by catchy but not generic guitar riffs, harmonistic vocals, a tad bit of a doo-wop 50’s feel, and a use of synthesizer that does make me want to destroy anything with keys (Death For My Birthday), leads Say Anything to be a really good album and one worth listening to. Old SA fans will enjoy it due to its similarity to older albums(in music style) and new fans will enjoy the stories of Max Bemis and his ability to make his horrible actions so likable. Break-up songs have never been so good. 7.9 out of 10
Download: “Ahhh…Men,” “She Won’t Follow You,” “Property”
No comments:
Post a Comment