Youth In Revolt
The Broken
(Outerloop Records)
The world needs a lot of things right now (decency, sanity, less truthiness), but it doesn’t exactly need another super-slick pop-punk/post-hardcore band. Too many bands that try to write hyper-melodic pop songs with punishing breakdowns end up failing at both. If I told you band did just that, with a vocal leader that sounded like a cross between Keillin Quinn (Sleeping With Sirens) and Vic Fuentes (Pierce the Veil) to boot, the expectation is that things won’t go very well.
Unsurprisingly, that’s slightly true here. “Alright” is the opposite of its title, with a Breathe Carolina-styled vocal effect and lyrics sappier than the inside of a tree. Also, it’s hard not to feel like the screams and breakdowns feel out of place, especially on the driving lead-off track, “Noise”. The song would definitely work better without the dual-vocal approach. Finally, the record closes with a token acoustic ballad that might work at a campfire but not so much to close a punk album.
That said, the majority of this record is surprisingly good; holy Hell The Broken is catchy. It absolutely nails what makes the style that Pierce The Veil and Sleeping With Sirens made popular, and aside from those few slip-ups, this is easily the catchiest and most consistently enjoyable post-hardcore album in recent memory. Interestingly, when the harsher elements of the band’s sound click, it creates a wonderful mix of sugary sweet and still-melodic aggression (see: “Love’s A Liars Game”, “There For You”, and the title track). Kenny Torres’ voice sounds like Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath on They’re Only Chasing Safety, which gives the record a nice retro feel. This isn’t a cheap, over-produced post-hardcore (though it’s as shiny as Mr. Clean’s head, to be fair), so the hooks and breakdowns feel earned instead of being cheap.
For a band that had teased a debut for so long that most figured it just wasn’t meant to be, Youth In Revolt have assuredly released one Hell of a fun opening statement. It’s a bit too saccharine for its own good, but if you can get past the occasionally sappy lyrics, you’ll get to appreciate a band having a blast.
