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Don’t call it a sophomore slump, but certainly don’t call it a band reaching its full potential. The heavily anticipated This Will Be The Death Of Us finds San Francisco’s Set Your Goals retreating to a more predictable version of themselves.
It’s a shame, especially considering 2006’s Mutiny! was a breath of fresh air to a some-what stagnant music scene, overrun by a slew of hopeless mall-punk acts. Sadly, rather than push their sonic boundaries further out, Set Your Goals give fans a disc that is easy to listen to, but one that fails to leave a lasting impact.
It’s a safe record from a band known for energy, spontaneity, a little pop-punk reckless abandon.
Things do, however, begin promising enough with the album’s title track. Michael Ambrose’s thundering drums give way to Joe Saucedo’s fuzzy bass as the band launches into a 4-chord assault, courtesy of guitarists Audelio Flores Jr. and Daniel Coddaire. While “This Will Be The Death Of Us” sets the tone for a far slicker record than its predecessor, the dual vocals of Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown remind listens of the empowering battle cries Set Your Goals are known for.
While the album’s next track, “With Hoffman Lenses We Will See The Truth,” comes across as 43 second distraction (It’s purple prose yammering about the “Primary means of prosperity…”), it’s the follow up track “Look Closer” that truly pulls in listeners. With it’s bouncing rhythms, large gang shout outs, and Soylent Green name checks, the track is tailor made for a Warped Tour mosh pit.
Set Your Goals have always earmarked their brand of melodic hardcore with overly earnest lyrics, especially like the ones found in “Look Closer,” “We need to deprogram from/Shifting with the public eye/We have a right to question why/See through the lies/Re-sensitize/And look closer…” However, the band’s purposefully verbose writing doesn’t always land its mark in other parts of the album. “Equals,” for example, finds Wilson and Brown spouting off lines such as, “Lost touch and stared off into doubt/Depersonalized in a cloud/Trading afflictions for imperfections…”
In many ways, Set Your Goals are the pop-punk equivalent of Will Smith: They try so hard to convey a positive message that it's either a home run out of the park, or completely foul.
But the band’s ideology aside, This Will Be The Death Of Us’ biggest weakness is that the band does not make their brand of melodic hardcore as visceral as their last album. While pop-punk is never known for elaborate arrangements, the ones found on This Will Be The Death Of Us do not surprise listeners in the slightest. “Summer Jam,” with its goofy synthesizers and underwhelming chorus feels phoned in, a third rate New Found Glory song at best. “Flawed Methods Of Persecution & Punishment” sports some of Ambrose’s best start/stop on a dime drumming, but the guitars don’t chug as they should, instead they hum along in a rather pedestrian fashion with next to no grit.
It’s not fair to attribute the band’s complacency to the production of the album. While the bass does not growl like it used to and the guitars are mixed too low for a majority of the songs here, the simple fact is that Set Your Goals are playing with precision, not passion. The records slickness has nothing to do with how ordinary the band sounds, thought it does tend to undermine their loveable DIY shtick.
It’s a shame too, for all ingredients are there: Galloping riffs, quick time changes, but they seem undercooked this time around.
Still, the album’s saving grace is that the band sounds like they’re having fun, and that makes up for a rather ordinary outing. The hilarious faux-hardcore shout out from Paramore’s Hayley Williams on “The Few Remain” is a great change of pace, sandwiched between Flores Jr. and Coddaire’s crunchy riffs. The album's brightest spot has to be “Gaia Bleeds (Make Way For Man)” with its muscular and staccato riffs, machine-gun drumming, and enormous sounding vocals. Here, the band not only plays to their strengths, but shows listeners they have something to SAY.
On “Gaia Bleeds,” the band walks the walk, so to speak.
This Will Be The Death Of Us is not a train wreck, but it’s a clear case of growing pains for a young band. Set Your Goals seems to be stuck, unsure how to progress to the next level in their sound. The result is an album that plays to their strengths to the point of banality, one where musical variety would have made a much stronger release.
While there are a few moments that will stick with listeners, moments where the band seems to be pushing ahead at full speed, there are a host of average moments too, ones that fans will instantly forget after the disc stops spinning.
Perhaps that means that Set Your Goals needs to set their goals a tad higher next time.
Sounds Like: Tip Of The Iceberg E.P. (A New Found Glory), Rise Or Die Trying (Four Year Strong), Can’t Slow Down (Saves The Day)
Key Cuts: This Will Be The Death Of Us, The Few Remain, Gaia Bleeds (Make Way For Man)
Click on the artwork to sample some of This Will Be The Death Of Us for yourself!
It’s a shame, especially considering 2006’s Mutiny! was a breath of fresh air to a some-what stagnant music scene, overrun by a slew of hopeless mall-punk acts. Sadly, rather than push their sonic boundaries further out, Set Your Goals give fans a disc that is easy to listen to, but one that fails to leave a lasting impact.
It’s a safe record from a band known for energy, spontaneity, a little pop-punk reckless abandon.
Things do, however, begin promising enough with the album’s title track. Michael Ambrose’s thundering drums give way to Joe Saucedo’s fuzzy bass as the band launches into a 4-chord assault, courtesy of guitarists Audelio Flores Jr. and Daniel Coddaire. While “This Will Be The Death Of Us” sets the tone for a far slicker record than its predecessor, the dual vocals of Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown remind listens of the empowering battle cries Set Your Goals are known for.
While the album’s next track, “With Hoffman Lenses We Will See The Truth,” comes across as 43 second distraction (It’s purple prose yammering about the “Primary means of prosperity…”), it’s the follow up track “Look Closer” that truly pulls in listeners. With it’s bouncing rhythms, large gang shout outs, and Soylent Green name checks, the track is tailor made for a Warped Tour mosh pit.
Set Your Goals have always earmarked their brand of melodic hardcore with overly earnest lyrics, especially like the ones found in “Look Closer,” “We need to deprogram from/Shifting with the public eye/We have a right to question why/See through the lies/Re-sensitize/And look closer…” However, the band’s purposefully verbose writing doesn’t always land its mark in other parts of the album. “Equals,” for example, finds Wilson and Brown spouting off lines such as, “Lost touch and stared off into doubt/Depersonalized in a cloud/Trading afflictions for imperfections…”
In many ways, Set Your Goals are the pop-punk equivalent of Will Smith: They try so hard to convey a positive message that it's either a home run out of the park, or completely foul.
But the band’s ideology aside, This Will Be The Death Of Us’ biggest weakness is that the band does not make their brand of melodic hardcore as visceral as their last album. While pop-punk is never known for elaborate arrangements, the ones found on This Will Be The Death Of Us do not surprise listeners in the slightest. “Summer Jam,” with its goofy synthesizers and underwhelming chorus feels phoned in, a third rate New Found Glory song at best. “Flawed Methods Of Persecution & Punishment” sports some of Ambrose’s best start/stop on a dime drumming, but the guitars don’t chug as they should, instead they hum along in a rather pedestrian fashion with next to no grit.
It’s not fair to attribute the band’s complacency to the production of the album. While the bass does not growl like it used to and the guitars are mixed too low for a majority of the songs here, the simple fact is that Set Your Goals are playing with precision, not passion. The records slickness has nothing to do with how ordinary the band sounds, thought it does tend to undermine their loveable DIY shtick.
It’s a shame too, for all ingredients are there: Galloping riffs, quick time changes, but they seem undercooked this time around.
Still, the album’s saving grace is that the band sounds like they’re having fun, and that makes up for a rather ordinary outing. The hilarious faux-hardcore shout out from Paramore’s Hayley Williams on “The Few Remain” is a great change of pace, sandwiched between Flores Jr. and Coddaire’s crunchy riffs. The album's brightest spot has to be “Gaia Bleeds (Make Way For Man)” with its muscular and staccato riffs, machine-gun drumming, and enormous sounding vocals. Here, the band not only plays to their strengths, but shows listeners they have something to SAY.
On “Gaia Bleeds,” the band walks the walk, so to speak.
This Will Be The Death Of Us is not a train wreck, but it’s a clear case of growing pains for a young band. Set Your Goals seems to be stuck, unsure how to progress to the next level in their sound. The result is an album that plays to their strengths to the point of banality, one where musical variety would have made a much stronger release.
While there are a few moments that will stick with listeners, moments where the band seems to be pushing ahead at full speed, there are a host of average moments too, ones that fans will instantly forget after the disc stops spinning.
Perhaps that means that Set Your Goals needs to set their goals a tad higher next time.
Sounds Like: Tip Of The Iceberg E.P. (A New Found Glory), Rise Or Die Trying (Four Year Strong), Can’t Slow Down (Saves The Day)
Key Cuts: This Will Be The Death Of Us, The Few Remain, Gaia Bleeds (Make Way For Man)
Click on the artwork to sample some of This Will Be The Death Of Us for yourself!
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