One Step Closer : "All You Embrace"

I appreciate the effort put into the songwriting here and the willingness to use memory as it pulls on the strings of nostalgia back to a time when this kind of thing felt fresh. I would be more impressed if this album came out in 1999. Over the years this sort of thing has weathered has come with it the bastardization when bands like Blink 182 and Jimmy Eat World, sold out to capture the radio waves. It is hard to separate that sort of thing from the melodies that possess songs like "The Gate".  Not the only song where they swing for the fences with anthemic dynamics, but most noticeable.  This diminishes the punk or hardcore side of what they are doing. There are so many bands capable of being true to both, Turnstile and Take Offense being the first two who come to mind. 

Some songs just conform to what the expectations of the genres are by keeping a sonic middle of the road, I think they could stand to be more aggressive as the more poppy nuances take them in a more Get Up Kids-like direction at best, as other times it sounds like color by numbers emo-pop punk before it descended into Myspace. Not that they just have to rely on screamed vocals but taking some of the sugar out of the singing might help. On the other hand, I like the vocals on the verses of "Esruc' which is one of the album's stronger songs.  Then with "Slow to Let Go" they split the difference between hardcore and pop punk in a way that feels bland. The last song almost feels like the jammed-out resolution of the previous song,. 

Things swing to the other end of the creative pendulum and everything falls into place for "Topanga".  They step into the ghosts of radio past on "Giant's Despair". the last song feels like it is the jammed-out resolution of the previous song and while I like the dynamic build and wish I heard more like it through the album it is almost too little too late as the album was allowed to meander in late 90s nostalgia. I     will give this album an 8, they are skilled songwriters and I appreciate what they are going for but it falls on the side of pop-punk too much for my tastes, but not denying they are good at this style of music, which I can't really call punk or hard-core.  Dropped on Run For Cover Records. 

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