Up and Coming
Nathan Knapp_Voronwë | Seattle | 12/16/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"With stunning emotion and a roaring message against apathy, What I Have to Give, Let it Be Enough is easily one of the top debut albums of 2006. Stylistically After the Sirens sounds like what might happen if Dead Poetic, late-career Further Seems Forever, and Fall Out Boy had a car crash and forgot which band they were in.
Opening up is the short introduction-like "White Noise with Grace Notes," the album really gets started with the hammering drums of "We Buy Jewelry When the Love Runs Out" and the upbeat "Song That Holds Us Still." All this is well and good, but things really pick up with the rowdy opening of "Oh, For Eyes of Glass," a rollercoaster of a song that finds hardcore-ish double-bass kicking by drummer Jason Lefever. While vocalist Ryan Heidorn attacks the Church's apathy and inaction:
Well, I'll give my money
If they ask of me,
But I won't give my clean body.
The least of these is not the least of my worries
Picking up from there is the equally apathy attacking "Prayers as Donations," except this time its aimed at ignorance of international poverty:
I'm tired of seeing you boxed up
In cardboard and army fatigue
And I'll be walking around you so lightly,
Hoping that you won't disturb me from making my retreat.
The theme continues on the awe-inspiring "Curare on Your Lips," a song that starts with an almost rave-like electro beat that moves into a metallic drumming head banging session as Heidorn's vocals are expertly sampled throughout the track. The latter of half of the album dabbles in acoustic guitars with "Instead of Beauty, Branding," and the intense "Lights At Nero's Party," finally closing with the piano ballad, "A Waning."
After the Sirens brand of rock brims with variety (which is never a bad problem to have in today's convoluted music world), and each track brings something different to the table. The lyrics are beautifully written, the drumming (did I mention the drumming?!) powerful, and the guitars piercing. A band to watch, I'll be looking for the next album from these Massachusetts-bred rockers."
Very Impressive
Cutter Lang | Chicago, IL United States | 10/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The group sounds like a really edgy version of Saves the Day.
The band plays a lot of different feels, which I really like. The album is complex, which gives it good staying power.
If you're a fan of punk, you should give this album a spin. You won't be disappointed."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1