Burns Out Bright

With quirky, wordy titles that would give Panic! at the Disco stiff competition, Burns Out Bright often rely on moody, winding music to get their point across. "The World Is Going to Hell, We Don't Have a Record Deal, & I've Never Had a Better Time in My Life," for example, builds off of a soft melancholic tone before changing pace with a punkish Sum 41-meets-Taking Back Sunday approach. The dual vocals of Isaac Stone and Forest Montgomery are decent but not spectacular. It's not bad for a seven-minute effort. Meanwhile, "Optimistic Nihilistic" is short and focused on emo-like arrangements and a big but deliberate buildup to the chorus. And the whiny vocals on "Replication Is the Highest Form of Replication" could be construed as an homage to Tom Delonge performing a blink-182 track, although the bridge and rhythm section are quite alluring. The only problem with this song is how, after four minutes and change, it loses steam. Rather than wrapping things up, they ride this out for roughly another three mundane and tedious minutes. This turf is walked on again during the adequate, galloping "Nothing Keeps the Werewolf Away Like a Silver Bullet." Perhaps the first true gem is the frantic and twisting "Sincerely," which sounds like a young Bryan Adams with high-speed dubbing. But generally, Burns Out Bright are content to make sure they are considered worthy of a Vans Warped Tour stage with the somewhat catchy and beefy "My Other Band Is a Hardcore Band." A sleeper pick on the album is the gentle instrumental "I Just Want You to Know I Hate Each One of You for Completely Different Reasons," which is sparse and reflective. ~ Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide