January 14, 2014 • Topshelf Records
You Blew It! has never really been my favorite of the modern emo revival bands; my opinion of their previous album was a bit middling though I was excited to hear this one. However, I'm not sure if I'm as excited as I was on the first listen, though the album is definitely far from bad.
Sonically, there's really not a lot to say about this release. Compared to Grow Up, Dude, the twinkly-midwest elements have been toned down a lot for more standard distorted-guitar rock riffing—with a few nice exceptions—though with a similar level of aggression (that is, not a whole lot of it). Still, there are some great catchy bits like "Gray Matter" and "Award of the Year Award", and a lot of nice uplifting moments like "House Address and "Rock Springs". Though it's not particularly unique, I think the change in sound suits them well enough.
On the other hand, I can't help but feel that this album seems like a product of a band just kind of going through the motions (just how significant is that album title, anyway?). Comparatively speaking, there doesn't seem to be as much emotion and passion going on... not so say there's none (the last two tracks are nice standouts), but sometimes the band just feels a bit flat. For example, I feel like "You & Me & Me" could have been a great song, but it sounds like everyone had just woken up when they recorded it.
Then again, I have been saturating myself with music like this lately (and so has the scene in general, as it's been taking off), so I don't want to entirely blame You Blew It! for my lukewarm reception. They do have the misfortune of releasing this at the same time a bunch of other great records are coming out (like the new Sport), for what that's worth. But I still think this album could have been better. Again—it's not bad, not at all. Let's hope it's a step towards something great.
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