Time to bust out the M-word. No, not mothafucka (that's copyrighted by Samuel L. Jackson), but matured. In their brand spankin new record, This Will Be The Death of Us, Set Your Goals have...gulp...grown up a little bit.
The first few tracks showcase much improved musicianship, especially an overall tightness, from 2005's Mutiny!. Vocally, dual front men Jordan Brown and Matt Wilson have maintained their signature sound while locking away their past tendency to come off really whiny in the past.
The real substance of the record emerges right where it should in any record: the middle. The aptly-titled "Summer Jam", a soon to be sing-a-long favorite, leads into the smoothly chugging "Like You To Me", the first great song on the album. Brown and Wilson really shine in "The Fallen", where the Bay Area sextet show that they're all about. (hardcore power, pop smarts, and gang vocals holla!) The true gem of the album is "The Few That Remain", a seemingly unfathomable step up from the previous song. Drummer Michael Ambrose's thumping provides the track's backbone where Brown and Wilson proclaim emphatically until Paramore's Hayley Williams makes a great cameo in the song's breakdown. Definitely up there for best song's I've heard so far this year.
Other highlights include "Gaia Bleeds (Make Way For Man), one of the heaviest songs the band have penned and the tandem of "Arrival Notes" and closer "Our Ethos: A Legacy To Pass On", a hushed acoustic sway into a solid closing track with a surprising A Capella ending. My only minor complaint are the lyrics: while criminal, some verses find the band taking their messages and, well, themselves a little too seriously.
I was really worried with all the hardcore-pop-punk bands (pop-core?) out now that Set Your Goals would just become run of the mill. Thankfully they show why they still shine above all the rest in their genre...releasing one of the best pop-punk albums I've heard in a long while. Definitely be seeing the year end's list...yup yup (hear it in gang vocals...)
Buy This Will Be The Death Of Us
Set Your Goals MySpace
I was ready to let me let go until I heard a shouting from you
Yeah, the very thing I had to keep me grounded when I fell through
When death comes for us…
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