Waiting Theory Separation Initiation and Return (2003) self-released

I was almost intrigued with the opening of this CD. In 3/4 time, the guitar was playing a riff that alternated with hitting harmonics while the drums had fading in and out effects on the cymbals. But then it broke into a shitty 4/4 basic palm muting verse reminiscent of "Through Being Cool" Saves the Day. Then into a breakdown that was completely a rip-off of Hoobastank's "Running Away" (or whatever that song is called). Then it repeats. And then it turns into a soft verse that features drum fills that are off time and whimpy semi-falsetto vocals. Guess how it closes out? Oh, you better believe it. Screaming "When you say goodbye!" I'm feeling the hurt ladies and gentlemen. Oh yeah, the pain is so close to home. And that's the first song.

The problem with this band is that they're your general predictable hardcore-tinged "emo" band (I refuse to use the word "screamo," it makes me ill). It's a carbon copy of Thursday (or one of those other bands). And the song writing isn't too terrible. They experiment with instrumentation and time signatures, and show promise of actually being good at times. When it comes down to the final product, it's boring and un-original. Each song has a pattern. Intro-four chords-intro as chorus-four chords-breakdown-repeat. And that's seriously enough to describe every song on the album. Three years ago, this band would've been innovative, but now it's just another group on the next bandwagon after garage rock.

Lyrically, this band is annoying. Yeah, we know your girlfriend dumped you. Sure, it sucks. Get over it. There are other things to write about. And quit writing shit that's intentionally vague in order to sound "deep" and philosophical. "An internal problem that has no answer." Good one Socrates. "This has put me in a foul mood. I resort to writing. But no! But no! no more nonsense about how I can put you in a whole I dug in the wall and use a limb to hang my clothes." Okay. They misspelled "hole." Or maybe they did it on purpose. Which, if it is the case, is even worse.

Now, if you're a fan of this type of music, I bet you'd love this album. They do stuff that's musically adept. It's produced well for not having label-backing. It's songs about how broken your heart is. And the use the word "jaded." It's perfect for the angsty teen population. For people who are annoyed with this genre of music, you'll hate this record. I gave it a three due to it having pieces that are decently technical in their songs. And because I'm trying to offer a more un-biased opinion.

(Jesse)