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Rating:
THE REVIEW
The debut album, after the EP "Silence is Golden", from yet another current emo band initially comes across as a decidedly conventional album in relation to the dictates of the now extensive (too much... when will the major labels decide to create new "trends"??) emotional scene, a genre in which the Californian quartet places their musical beliefs.
To call it conventional does not imply banality and uniformity. Shades of various flavors take space. To name a few I have strived to find: the drum attack of "The Predication" seems to come from the deepest metal; romantic and "emotional" strings in "A Night To Remember, A Morning" and "Streetcar"; guitars that in the bridge of "Summer So Bleak" wink at Prog Metal; a rhythm section that is sometimes particularly powerful in "99 With An Anchor"; hypnotic piano background and keyboards with metal hints from the latest generation power scene, in the closing track and title-track "Things Aren't So Beautiful Now, pt. 2".
It cannot be said that as a whole the album does not remind us of something already heard (Yellowcard or My Chemical Romance or Something Corporate or Bullet For My Valentine) but, despite this, the feeling is that it's a decently produced album, a succession of pieces still well-constructed but which after several listens will tend to bore, die-hard fans apart. Pieces that are born, evolve, and close in a "mannerist" way for the genre's standards but pieces that are orchestrated with good ear and musical sensitivity.
An evident flaw, to me, is the adequacy of the voice: compared to the atmospheres and rhythmic and melodic lines of the instruments, the singer is definitely detached.
Awaiting their second work... damn, it's the second time I've listened to the album in a row and I've had enough already. I think the now imminent second album, "It's Hard to Move You", I just won't listen to it.
In conclusion, as of now and as much as we can hear, these four youngsters bring nothing new to the troubled musical world.
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Summary by Bot
A Thorn for Every Heart's debut album is a conventional emo record with decent production and varied musical elements. Despite these qualities, it lacks originality and features a vocal style that feels detached. The album tends to bore after multiple listens. The reviewer is not optimistic about the band's upcoming second album.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
A Thorn for Every Heart
A Thorn for Every Heart is an American emo/post-hardcore band formed in California in 2003. After the EP Silence Is Golden, they released the debut album Things Aren't So Beautiful Now; the follow-up It's Hard to Move You faced label issues before later surfacing.01 Reviews
