After three studio albums (one a double album), Max Bemis and Say Anything return with their fourth studio release: the self-titled. And it’s with a heavy heart that I write this review, especially after loving nearly everything that Max has ever written.
Honestly? I could listen to Max Bemis on an acoustic guitar every second of every day and be more than satisfied with that. I now look at Two Tongues (Max’s side project with Chris from Saves The Day) as the chink in Max’s armor. Two Tongues was an uninspired, tepid mess that I think could best be forgotten with the notable exception of “Crawl”. But I’m almost afraid that Saves The Day’s mediocrity has rubbed off on Max. Or maybe it was writing dozens of songs for cash over the summer. Whatever it is, it’s affected the band, because the self-titled is much of the same.
I was really hoping that “Hate Everyone” A.K.A. “I Fought The Law 2009″, was just the typical shitty single that would preface a great album (like “Wow I Can Get Sexual Too” or “Baby Girl I’m A Blur”), but instead we get tracks like “Do Better” or “Property” which seem to be Say Anything Lite: a shallow misrepresentation of a once great band.
Whenever someone tells me that they don’t like Say Anything because they didn’t like the singles, I always show them “Admit It!”. So I’m showing you now.
Max seems to want to continue in this direction with multiple instances of spoken word, but the pop culture references and ridiculous cliches are just painful to listen to. “I’m just Debra Messing with you”? Are you kidding me?
Not that the album isn’t without its high points. “Cemetary” is a classic Say Anything song with a great hook and an interesting song structure. “Eloise” is a strong ballad that will have any SA crowd singing along gladly. And “Ahhh… Men” is weird and really awesome. But that’s it.
One of the great casualties of this album is “Crush’d”. A song written by Max for his wife Sherry. It’s a goofy, silly song (“Did it hurt when you fell from heaven girl?”), but it’s honest. You can understand the goofy lovesick feeling that Max gets when he’s around Sherry, and when I heard this song on acoustic, it gave me high hopes for the album.
The album comes around and I listen to “Crush’d” and I’m greeted with synths and dance beats that resemble a really bad Hellogoodbye song. All of the honesty is lost in something that is genuinely unlistenable, and it’s sad.
Please don’t get me wrong, …Is A Real Boy is one of the great classics of our time. No question whatsoever. But as a band, I’m beginning to question anyone after hearing “Crush’d”, “Do Better”, or “Property”, or just the overall commonplace of the rest of the album. It’s uninteresting, average, and boring.
Try: Cemetary, Ahhh Men, Eloise
Like it? Then try: “Alive With The Glory Of Love”, “Skinny Mean Man”, “Admit It!”
| 1. | “Fed to Death” | 1:36 |
| 2. | “Hate Everyone“ | 3:13 |
| 3. | “Do Better” | 3:42 |
| 4. | “Less Cute” | 3:03 |
| 5. | “Eloise” | 3:47 |
| 6. | “Mara and Me” | 3:52 |
| 7. | “Crush’d” | 4:23 |
| 8. | “She Won’t Follow You” | 2:42 |
| 9. | “Cemetery” | 3:54 |
| 10. | “Property” | 4:11 |
| 11. | “Death for My Birthday” | 4:03 |
| 12. | “Young, Dumb, and Stung” | 3:20 |
| 13. | “Ahhh… Men” | 3:57 |
1 Comment(s)
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Yeah I agree that in a sense, it’s probably their weakest record but frankly that doesn’t say much compared to their other work. The first time I heard Cemetery, Ahh… Men, Less Cute and Fed To Death, I was simply blown away. There are a few mediocre songs on the album but I have a feeling it will grow on me. I remember hating the second disc of In Defense of the Genre the first time I heard it but after a few more listens, I loved it almost as much as Is A Real Boy. It may not be perfect but I’m still convinced it will be one of my favorite albums of 09.