Face To Face

Face To Face: How To Ruin EverythingHow To Ruin Everything (2002)
Vagrant Records

Reviewer Rating: 3.5

User Rating:

Contributed by: wyzowyzo
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on April 13th 2002I can't even start to say that this record was disappointing. Because I've been following Face to Face for years I'll open with something positive. "Waiting to be saved" is a great song. Unfortunately, not as many of the songs are.Face to face hit their stride in their musical output with the s/t an.

I can't even start to say that this record was disappointing. Because I've been following Face to Face for years I'll open with something positive. "Waiting to be saved" is a great song. Unfortunately, not as many of the songs are.

Face to face hit their stride in their musical output with the s/t and the live album, one of the few live albums that deserve to be owned even if you own the recorded versions of the songs. They went to record again, and came out with Ignorance is Bliss. To some regarded as a deathblow, this is my favorite Face to Face album. It showed them going against the grain, and they came up with a powerful and explosive album of musical layers and sultry melancholy. Some called them sell outs (cause poser went out of style in the early decade), but the true sell out would come with Reactionary. I liked Reactionary but it was hard not to notice the band's lack of enthusiasm with the record. In interviews, Trever made comments to the effect that after Ignorance's failure amongst most fans if all they wanted was a punk record, they'd make them their punk record. He stated that after they started working on Reactionary he started coming around and got a more positive attitude but it was hard to not to feel like the band was disillusioned. The title of the album is Reactionary. To those of us politically minded a reactionary is defined (dictionary.com) "Characterized by reaction, especially opposition to progress or liberalism; extremely conservative.". This was when they sold out. When they changed their sound just to please other people, in this case, their own impossible to please fans. I felt extremely sad that a band did what they wanted to and got called a sell out, then they do what is the very definition of selling out and they get welcomed back into their fans punk rock DIY arms.

How to Ruin Everything comes off as if the band has lost their identity that they didn't get back after Ignorance is Bliss got the cold shoulder. They seem energetic, the songs sound alright, but it sounds like a band only half interested in really comitting themselves to a scene that really only wants an average boring SoCal album. There are some highlights. "Wolf in sheep's clothing", "Shoot the moon", "Waiting to be saved", and the lyrical twist on Fugazi's words in "the compromise" make up the best parts of the record. The rest is off and on. Trever's vocals sound too forced to be raw, and the songs try to be anthemic to the point of wondering if Face to Face wants to be British living in '77 except they're obviously not.

With the last couple records, I have hope. The b-sides for the last 3 albums have been better than most of the songs on those albums. My favorite F2F song ever, "For You" has never been released and was recorded during Reactionary. I have high hopes for the b-sides disc that comes with pre-orders.

In closing, If you like F2F, buy it, its good enough for now, its better than Strung Out's new showing, but falls short of what I expected. I hope the band the best, and maybe it'll grow on me.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

User13 (January 18, 2003)

this album was crap. i want to go back and time and kick my ass before i bought it

SaYnE_Guy (April 21, 2002)

Good album. Not as good as "Don't Turn Away" or "Big Choice", then again, not much is.

Anonymous (April 19, 2002)

i agree with the guy that posted below. I think many people are just pissed off when someone reviews an album and doesn't really explain why the album is good or isn't. People get pissed off when they read a review and get to the end of it only to realize they have become a dumber person for having read it. Shitty reviews should not be posted, its a waste of everyone's time.

Anonymous (April 16, 2002)

very good review. i think everyone should try to keep from getting pissed off when someone doesn't like an album they like. we all have different tastes, thank God.

this site has too many people just reviewing records they like. i enjoy someone saying a record sucks. props.

Anonymous (April 16, 2002)

i have to disagree about them being assholes. I met them and thought they were pretty cool, just out having a good time.
Fuck who can blame them for being pricks sometimes. They put up with a lot of bullshit from their 'fans' who do nothing but criticize everything they do. I think if you actually hang out and talk to them, which doesn't include interviewing them, you'd see they ain't so bad.
I find it quite funny how so many people can't seem to figure out that there are many lyrics completely written about their fans. I would hate to be them. Most of their fans are obnoxious assholes.

wyzo (April 16, 2002)

I would agree with you except it makes little sense. Emo was hardly 'big' when Ignorance came out, both samiam and jawbreaker didn't break into the mainstream, and if they didn't, no emo band would.

Still, if they thought it would work, I would agree with you. But even bands that change the sound slightly for the label do so with some chance of success. They didnt slightly change sound, they completely overhauled the sound. There were no punk rock songs on ignorance. It doesn't fit the pattern of a band trying to get big on emo, or any genre. There last record, the s/t, was on a major and did very well, it makes no sense that they would fix what wasn't broken. It was at most the chance to lose it all which they did, not a gamble they thought would payoff.

Even a band who wants to sell out needs to have an audience to sell out too. Face to face didn't have anybody waiting in the wings to buy Ignorance, so I don't see how it could have been selling out. It still looks to me like the one sincere record they put out. The density and layers on that record are insane, the amount of third fourth guitar parts, the ambient sounds, its all there.

Even by emo standards, its not an emo record so while I see why you think that way, I just don't follow.

I agree they have always seemed a little arrogant to there fans, but again the band is Trevor's lets not make a mistake about it, its his sheer will and ego that has kept the band going instead of breaking up. If he's rude, its because of the ignorance debacle. The guys bitter, I feel sorry for him.

wyzo

Anonymous (April 15, 2002)

"Ignorence Is Bliss" is when the band sold out. They missed the boat with the Green Day pop-punk explosion (get signed to a major, get raped for one minor hit, then thrown out onto the streets for failing to be the next big thing) and figured they could jump on the emo bandwagon, which was gaining steam.

I caught them on their "Econo-tour", promoting "Ignorence" and the band was SO desperate for people to adore them, telling everyone after every third song the album's release date and playing the new shit that NO ONE was having any part of (we mostly stood and stared at Trevor as he was doing his emo rocking out in his bowling shirt...). I like indie rock/emo too but FTF's take on it was horrible.

And to the fans, I say if you want to like Face to Face, NEVER meet them. I interviewed the band and they were extremely rude to me before I asked one question and were obviously very defensive about being criticized (not unlike some of their fans...Scott's review..) "Reactionary" was the nail in the coffin.

And from the looks of it, this one is just more dirt on a deep grave. Best of luck, guys..

--Cos

Anonymous (April 14, 2002)

Thank you for a good review. I love the record, the reviewer didn't say wow this is great, buy it! But it still told people about the album regardless of the writers own personal taste. Good job. Quality review.

Much better than the first piss-poor attempt that was called a review.

Anonymous (April 14, 2002)

"scott you fag
study this one so you can learn something"

Wow... This guy should write reviews. He's obviously well spoken. Seriously, you're bitching about a guy's writing skills, and you post THIS? Some real intelligence there.

kirbypuckett (April 14, 2002)

I really wish I could write a decent review, but I'm just terrible at describing things. If I wrote a review for this album it would say "it's pretty cool, buy it." I just do not know how to describe music. I don't know why either! It's the thing I love most in life...hmm...anyways, I think if I could write it down, it'd come out like this...great review!

Anonymous (April 14, 2002)

This ablum carries elements of all the previous face albums is well produced. Sounds great in my opinion
F2F RULES

Anonymous (April 14, 2002)

heaps good review

scott you fag
study this one so you can learn something