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Self Against City

Telling Secrets to Strangers
2007
Drive-Thru

Self Against City - Telling Secrets to Strangers (Cover Artwork)

Review by: GlassPipeMurder
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hair in yo' face! (link)

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Published on February 23rd 2007

In the world of watered down variations on Taking Back Sunday, the margins for success are small. Teary, dramatic vocals dominate the band’s bland, uninteresting music, filled with clichéd girl-oriented themes that often leave much to desire. While other Drive-Thru bands have been able to succeed with either the creativity of Hellogoodbye, the lyrical bite of Socratic, or the comparative aggression of I Am the Avalanche, Self Against City has none of those.

The blatant egoism of the singer in “Tequila Moonlight” is the boldest the lyrical content ever gets on Telling Secrets: "You gave me that look across the table at dinnertime / Your toes caress my ankle / And I notice your breathing getting heavy / Your speech short of steady / It's obvious you're ready." In all fairness, there are several outlying occasions where the music isn’t painfully dull. “Talking to the Mirror” is the best song on the album, featuring a relatively aggressive rhythm with a bouncy bass verse, “Becoming a Monster” has some catchy melodies with nice, albeit predictable backing vocals, and “Ready and Willing” could have been decent if it weren’t for the unbearably gagging lyrics and vocal delivery.

By the eighth song, “You Got It,” the band is clearly running out of steam. The last three songs are about as boring and monotonous as any ending to a record. The last song, “Back to Our Innocence” features an idiotic drum machine electronica beat that may have worked for Hellogoodbye, but turns an otherwise decent song into a complete joke for Self Against City.

With such a good name for a punk-related band in Self Against City, Telling Secrets to Strangers offers nothing but disappointment. Although there are several bright spots, the majority of the album lacks energy, audacity, and originality, a losing combination for any band trying to make more for itself than just a fanbase of teenage girls.

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Posted by xmonachettix on 2007-09-08 23:04:32
My Score:

i love these guys.

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 4, 2007 at 11:37 PM (EST)

solid release from an up and coming band
-christopher

Posted by ConsolationPrizefighter on 2007-02-28 18:03:12

Tequila Sunrise > Tequila Moonlight

Posted by andyvizzle on 2007-02-26 18:15:12
My Score:

Geez I can feel the love in here. If you don't like the music thats fine, but don't call other people fags becuase you don't like their hair. Sounds like a few of you might be jealous. haha.
either way, great album for me, 10 stars .

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 1:21 PM (EST)

doing whatever you want is pretty punx

Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2007-02-24 23:34:10

whaaaat...you get to arbitrarily change my score? that's not very punx.

Posted by inagreendase on 2007-02-24 21:10:35

GlassPipe, if that's the case, I gotta bump it down to a 4, max. Our scale doesn't work like academia -- a 2 is just as bad an 8 is good. A 5 would be fair or mediocre.

One day we'll actually put up a link that explains our scale. Remember, it's a balanced one. A score of 6/10 wouldn't be a "failing" record on the site.

Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2007-02-24 16:28:29

well the way i see, a 5/10 isn't very good at all. that's already an F, and as i mentioned, there are some halfway decent moments here.

Posted by historypeats on 2007-02-24 15:28:35
My Score:

How did this get a five? The review makes it sound like a 2, which is what I would have given it.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 24, 2007 at 12:21 PM (EST)

"so what if I want to call the Whalers a bunch of faggots in the comfort of my own home? thats not homophobia!"

(loose chasing amy quote, one of you dorks correct me)

Paul

P.S. these guys have gay haircuts, now if that makes me homophobic then so be it. they look like shitty shitty fag fags.

Posted by joshcbfl on 2007-02-24 12:20:58

Posted by badbrain on 2007-02-23 19:39:43

feeeding5000, saying someone has a gay haircut is not homophobia stupid. that word gets thrown around too much by the hypersensitive.

HR, is that you?!

Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2007-02-23 21:00:42

haha, i like how the "homophobia" criticism two posts down was by "BadBrain".

Posted by ibitchslappedyourmama on 2007-02-23 19:47:47

these guys are seriously homo... i had to sit through a set of theirs and i wanted to choke the shit out of the lead singer. they all look like skinny 14 yr old chicks with feathered hair...and thats not being stereotypical of bands that play this kind of trash

Posted by badbrain on 2007-02-23 19:39:43

feeeding5000, saying someone has a gay haircut is not homophobia stupid. that word gets thrown around too much by the hypersensitive.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, February 23, 2007 at 7:07 PM (EST)
My Score:

I actually loved this album. One of the few cds I can listen to without having to skip a single track.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, February 23, 2007 at 1:37 PM (EST)

Wow, everyone gets a little homophobic when there's another review of some bad emo-pop band. You're taking it a little too seriously, guys. It's just a bad band.
-feeeding5000

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, February 23, 2007 at 10:47 AM (EST)
My Score:

everything thats wrong with the 'punk/emo/hardcore' scene right now, right up there with Panic! and cute is what we aim for. shitty, shitty cheese vocals and the guys sounds more annoying than the starting line singer guy, they are all skinny girly men with gay haircuts and finally, the music is very boring and generic. this is the kind of shit that you hear in the background of 'maui fever' or whatever that new shitty mtv show is.

Paul

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, February 23, 2007 at 10:12 AM (EST)
My Score:

score is for the comment below, made me laugh, thanks-oldpunker-

Posted by dietcokeofpunk on 2007-02-23 07:58:06

I usually like bands with the word against in the name. ie against me!, against all authority, rise against...

therefor i demand that this band change their name. "we have gay haircuts" would be acceptable...

Posted by m-oo on 2007-02-23 05:34:16
My Score:

Couldnt agree more with the review!

Posted by BrandonSideleau on 2007-02-23 00:05:54

I always though Taking Back Sunday was already watered down hahaha.