The band doesn’t take success for granted, thanking friends and fans for making a dream come true (“In Fate’s Hands”). Amid pain, a guy offers sage advice about knowing oneself and setting goals (“Waiting”). “Face Down” warns that every action bears a consequence. It also gets in the grill of an abusive boyfriend (“Do you feel like a man when you push her around?”) in hopes of breaking the cycle. With the spiritual conviction of a psalmist, “Misery Loves Its Company” acknowledges our fallen state and asks the Lord for guidance. Other tracks urge a friend to regain control of his life (“Atrophy”), pledge to protect a true love (“Your Guardian Angel”) and voice support for a fellow artist rejected by the industry for not having pop-star looks (“Seventeen Ain’t So Sweet”). The cryptic “Justify” uses biblical language to warn of a deceiver—called the Fake—who leads men to destruction (“Your side, choose wise … choose while you can”).
Though “Grim Goodbye” is a well-intentioned, empathetic description of someone’s descent into darkness, it gets murky and teens could fixate on the despair (“I just cannot let this go/I just cannot win”). Probably used as a verb (but easily heard as a swear word), “damn” appears in the chorus and title of “Damn Regret” (“Damn regret, I’ll try to forget/Don’t worry about me/’Cos I’m real fine”).
A sonic blend of Green Day, Simple Plan and screamo, this group is headlining the Take Action Tour, a campaign to help teens combat depression and suicidal thoughts. And indeed, these guys seem eager to reach a subculture desperate for hope. While they do slip up on a couple of tunes, they’re still something of an optimistic light in a very dark genre.
