Released: Nov 3, 2009
Genre: Alternative Rock / Emo
Label: RCA
Number Of Tracks: 12
Comparing this to their previous albums, this is deffinetly the most technical album they have.
Say Anything
Reviewed by:
_T_H_R_I_C_E_, on november 19, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: The band's self titled album gives the Say Anything sound that their fans are accustomed to hearing. Lead singer Max Bemis and guitarist Jake Turner's voices compliment each other beautifully, as well as the female backup vocal parts by Max's wife, Sherry.
Some of the songs follow the basic song format, namingly Hate Everyone, Property, and Less Cute; but they make a somewhat throwback to their non-structured songs like Resounding and Where The Hurt Is with Mara And Me, all its missing is the long instrumental breaks.
Theres a variance in the instruments used, such as the strings used in Do Better, and the keyboards in Crush'd. The solo's are all noticeably different, although they mostly use the same effects. On few occasions (Property and Mara And Me), Bemis takes time to just talk a few lines, which has a nice effect. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: If there's one main theme of this album, it would be death and religion. With the exception of maybe two songs, every song makes some reference to religion (a common theme in Say Anything's lyrics, but more pronounced in this album). There are three songs about death; Fed To Death, Cemetery, and Death For My Birthday, and all have a passive view of death; irresponsibility for one's death, dying with someone you love, and looking forward to death respectively.
Two other types of songs on this album are the anti-everything songs (Hate Everyone, Mara And Me, and Young Dumb And Stung), and the songs about girls (Eloise, Crush'd, and to a lesser extent, Cemetery).
If you're a Say Anything fan, Cemetery is the next I Want To Know Your Plans/By Tonight. On the downside, the songs Property and Hate Everyone are lacking on the lyrical side. Really catchy and poppy, but feels too generic to sound honest. Seeing as how Hate Everyone is the first single, I can see Property being the next, seeing as how its so basic the general public would enjoy it.
That being said, there is no where else that you can hear lines like "though I suffer from dyslexia, and mild manorexia" and "you're in my body, thats where I think about you". Say Anything is a unique lyrical experience. // 9
Impression: Compared to other albums, I would put Say Anything's latest effort between In Defense of the Genre and ...Is a Real Boy, with the latter being their best work. The best songs are most definitely Cemetery and Ahh...Men, because they sound so honest in their lyrics and are present in classic Say Anything fashion.
What I like most about this album is that its not all about Bemis this time around (like IDOTG), and more about things that anyone listening could relate to. What isn't so good is the public friendly cannon fodder that is Hate Everyone, but thats my opinion.
In the end, if you like lyrics that are just as raw as the music thats accompanying it, you'll like this album. // 9
Say Anything
Reviewed by:
DomSpazzirri, on november 13, 2009 0 of 2 people found this review helpful
Sound: Say Anything has always been that punk - alternative band since its creation of lead singer's Max Bemix time in high school. The new self-titled album is a great effort and in my opinion a huge step forward from the previous albums. This album just sounds like its not all about Max like the other ones are. The sound of the songs are more poppy this time around, and almost use alot less guitar. If you're a fan from the ...Is A Real Boy album and expect songs like "Belt", you will be dissapointed. However none of the songs sound the same, each other is very different from the last and a lot of them are very memorable. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics this time around as I mentioned before, are not all about Max Bemis this time. In the song "Less Cute" it is told through the eyes of a girl. As for memorable lyrics, there are a few songs that stick you. The song "Do Better" has a good chorus lyric that will be good to spice up your day. But songs like the first single "Hate Everyone" is simply, I hate everyone. Other than a few unthoughtout lines that are very cheesy, the songs do carry good lyrics and great metaphores that Max Bemis is known for. // 8
Impression: Comparing this to their previous albums, this is deffinetly the most technical album they have. It might not be the longest but it is very well done. They have grown has musicians and tired many new things. The songs that stick out to me the most are "Hate Everyone", "Do Better", "Mara and Me", and "Crush'd". I love this album overall, and I have been a Say Anything fan since the Baseball days. If I did lost this album I would deffinetly buy it again. // 8
The wit is still there. I was hoping for something like "Admit It!" this time, but nonetheless, Crush'd, Do Better, Hate Everyone, and Ahhh... Men were fantastic songs.
the songs are catchier, there are a few more instruments used, but i'd say it's the least technical of all their albums. lyrics are still killer though.
I only like Hate Everyone and Fed to Death. Everything else was okay, but those are the only two songs I put on my MP3 player. I just feel that since ...Is A Real Boy they've lost something, both lyrically and musically. Still, they're my favorite band. If I saw them live everyday for the rest of my life I would die a very happy man. Max is a genius, he definatly flaunted it in ...Is A Real Boy and I'm very confident he'll show it again. This just wasn't it.
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