REVIEWS
WRITTEN BY: MEG
In the spring of 2018, Settle Your Scores released their sophomore album, “The Wilderness.” After three years, the band have made a strong comeback with the release of their third LP, “Retrofit.”
The album kicks off with its lead single, “Meant For Misery,” which immediately showcases the pop-punk sound that the entire record has to offer. As the title foreshadows, the lyrics have a pessimistic outlook, and they especially convey feelings of hopelessness during the second verse with lines like “I’m always in the eye of the shit storm / Stuck at the epicenter ever since the second I was born” and “So give me one good reason not to give up now, because I’m done believing things’ll work themselves out.” QWERTY'' opens with riffs that hint at the band’s easycore roots, and the lyrics quickly address a disdain for the rapid rise of social media and technology use due to its negative impacts on society, with the lines “In a world full of followers, I’ve never felt hollower” and “Can we break free and escape this net? / We’re close as three feet, and yet, we can’t connect” being two prime examples of that. “1999,” another single, brings unforgettable hooks from start to finish. The lyrics portray feelings of nostalgia as the band reminisces on their youth and wishes they could “just rewind” to that particular time in their lives, explaining how they “used to play Nintendo'' and “used to play with Hot Wheels,” as children, but are now paying bills and rent and dealing with the obstacles of adulthood.
“Jenna Tools” is a bit slower in comparison to the tracks before it, and the contrast between softer sections (like the first verse and the bridge) and louder sections like the choruses brings engaging dynamics to the track. “Staring at the Ceiling,” another more midtempo track, teeters on the edge of pop-rock and incorporates that into the pop-punk influenced sound heard on these other tracks. Similarly to the track before it, the verses are more laid-back, and contrast from the much bigger choruses, which are some of the catchiest on the whole album. “High Spirits” also contrasts from the much more upbeat tracks on this record in regards to its tempo, and the 6/8 time signature instantly makes it stand out. The song’s lyrics touch on alcoholism and depicts someone discussing how they use alcohol as a way to numb their emotional pain (“And I know my only hope to cope with the bullshit is to pour it down, down, down / The bottom of the bottle’s where I drown, drown, drown all my sorrows ‘till tomorrow / I’ll find comfort in feeling numb for a bit”) “The Way Things Used To Be” picks the pace right back up, and with its unforgettable melodies and the softer dynamics within the earlier sections of the song, it focuses a little bit on the poppier aspects of the pop-punk sound that this record has. Much like “1999,” this track is another single with lyrics that are centered around nostalgia and wanting to be taken back tot better days, with some of the best examples residing within the second verse (“Time we thought was ours was only ever borrowed, yet I’m still chasing yesterday”) and the pre-chorus that follows it up (“And all our daydreams took a backseat to our new routines / Ain’t it funny how quickly the best weeks fade to memories?”). “Broken Heart Scenario” once again incorporates the band's easycore influences a little bit with some heavier vocals in the beginning. “Streets Ahead” is an uptempo track that talks a bit about the music industry and the struggles of trying to find a place within it, and the singalong-worthy chorus is another one of the most unforgettable choruses on the record. “Everafter” brings the album to its epic conclusion, and is a perfect example of the classic pop-punk sound displayed on the record. The lyrics that end the song and the record are reflective, as the bridge repeats the question “will I ever be happy?” and the lines “Happiness is fleeting, but still we search for meaning / We want to think we matter, but we’ll never get an answer.” "Retrofit" is filled with ten tracks that serve as an ode to early 2000s and modern-day pop-punk, and overall, the album is a phenomenal third record from Settle Your Scores. "RETROFIT" IS AVAILABLE NOW. LISTEN TO THE ALBUM HERE:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
|