Bayside - Shudder [ALBUM]

Victory Records

December 13, 2008, 08:01 PM

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I'm a huge fan of Bayside so I'll try and rule out any bias in this review, but it's very hard to not give these guys a great review. Returning to the scene with "Shudder", their fourth full-length release on Victory Records, Bayside stated that they wanted to be a different band for the next 18 months and described that they wanted to "make a punk record". It's not punk like The Misfits or the Sex Pistols, but it's a lot more punk and fast-paced than Bayside's last release, "The Walking Wounded" - and in my opinion, that's a great thing.

Shudder starts off with "Boy" and immediately you are hit with the faster tempo of the new release and the strong guitar riffs that drive the song forward until you are faced with front man Raneri's faultless vocals.

Continue on further where, if you're familiar with Bayside, you will recognise their consistency in writing catchy lyrics which flow magically with the music guitarist Jack O'Shea, bassist Nick Ghanbarian and drummer Chris Guglielmo play in the chorus. This continues throughout the record as you run through "The Ghost of the Valentine" which, in my opinion, is definitely one of the best songs on the record.

However, I always feel Bayside pick the wrong single to feature with their albums, and in this case it's, "No One Understands". Don't get me wrong, I love the song, but I don't feel it's their best. Raneri's lyrics and vocals still flow with the music beautifully and Bayside's melodic catchy theme continues throughout the song. Bayside are all about positivity, especially after the death of original Bayside drummer John "Beatz" Holohan, and they insist on seeing the bright side of life, no matter what. Every time I think about the incident where that tour bus slid on ice and crashed and fatally killed Holohan and injuried Ghanbarian, I get shivers down my spine because as you start listening to Bayside's lyrics more carefully and under the microscope you realise that most, if not all, of their lyrics can be related to that incident, and hope that you can cope and get past it. The album plays on where Bayside deliver yet another stern message in "What and What Not" and "A Call to Arms" before getting into the slower, less punk song of the record in "I Can't Go On" where they seem to pull out yet another positive note out of such a pessimist song title. "Demons", the next song to delight my ears, is one of my favourites. The rusty, grungy feel to it makes it one of the best and the chorus is another that you can feel yourself about to sing out to even though you're trying not to.

The next three songs, "Have Fun Storming the Castle", "Howard" (which is about Howard Hughes)and "Roshambo (Rock, Paper, Scissors)" get back to the fast-paced punk nature to the record. Guitarist O'Shea rips out an insane solo on Roshambo which is sure to delight his many fans who may feel he is a very underrated as a guitarist. The song that follows, "I Think I'll Be OK" is definitely a melodic song with thrusting vocals and is one of my personal favourites. They continue their positivity and I think this should be be applauded, The final song of the album, "Moceanu" (which is about Dominique Moceanu) is an acoustic, melodic song. It's hard to describe how this song is sung. Raneri sings most words, but important parts of the sentence are spelt out, for example, "I'm S-I-C-K of meaningless life, where C-H-A-N-C-E-S pass me by". It's one of those songs which you either love or you hate. In my case - I love it!

For a band that hasn't yet reached the heights of Green Day or attracted the media attention like Fall Out Boy or Alkaline Trio, I think Bayside deserve a lot more. In a way, I don't want them to either because too much popularity can distract bands from their original goal and although I feel they can deal with that, I like Bayside the way they are and I feel it's better to be the only person in your class, or work, that knows who Bayside are as it brings more meaning to Bayside is a cult.

http://www.myspace.com/bayside

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