Search - Four Letter Lie :: What a Terrible Thing to Say

Growing up is a wonderful thing

C. Fjerstad | Minneapolis, MN | 03/10/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 2006, Four Letter Lie graced us with their debut LET YOUR BODY TAKE OVER which, in my opinion, was one of the greatest post-hardcore albums yet to come out of the genre. While the songs followed predictable and formulaic structures, the band came out swinging with some of the catchiest, most memorable hooks and choruses this genre has ever seen. Yes, there is an overabundance of bands playing this specific type of music, but Four Letter Lie is right there on top of the stack. They do it better.





Now the band is back with WHAT A TERRIBLE THING TO SAY - the sophomore release from this group of youthful stallions. If one thing is certain, it's that the band is growing up fast. While the first album had a certain pop sensibility which was intensely easy to grasp, WHAT A TERRIBLE THING TO SAY distances itself from that and challenges its listeners with much more mature riffs and twists. There's no cheesy metal-tinged noodling like far too many genre bands, just a bunch of heavy-hitting rock riffs and some impressive harmonized passages.



Nagan's screams have grown as well. His throat has much more character this time around, which I'm sure the production helped with a lot. You can now understand a lot more of his lyrics and the parts that are meant to be emotionally intense do sound a lot more emotionally intense. You can get a sense of just how agonized his voice allows him to seem right away with the "She must be the devil!" rant towards the end of the opening track.



The album remains solid all the way through, as there aren't really any particularly weak tracks. There are however, some strong tracks though. "Cake Eater" couldn't be a better opener, with some memorable guitar licks and the only blatantly obvious breakdown and singalong on the entire album. "Nothing But a Ghost" and the title track "What a Terrible Thing To Say" are the best choice for singles with the most pleasant sounding melodic choruses and clever yet effective song structures. "A Place Called "Further"" surprises us at it's end with a powerful choir-like singalong, which is easily one of the standout parts of the album. "Pretend You Never Happened" also stands as Kevin Skaff gives his most ruthless vocal performance, belting out "I've got to get rid of her ghost" over and over but never getting old, as the intensity in his voice shines through.



If you are into post-hardcore, or the new wave of HEAVY POP at all, this is an album you need to get your hands on. Four Letter Lie continue to show that they can do this better than the majority of the bands trying to make a mark in the genre."