Review → Off With Their Heads – In Desolation (2010)
Off With Their Heads - In Desolation
I love Off With Their Heads. Their gloomy, gruff, sorta-pop-punk jams are the kind of thing I eat up. And their exposure has sure grown of late; their last album, 2008′s From the Bottom (No Idea Records), was phenomenal, for starters, second only to The ’59 Sound on my short list of best albums of ’08, and got exposure through a fairly awesome placement/pricing at Hot Topic stores around the country. And then, earlier this year, they signed to Epitaph Records, helping to erase the memories of all the shit bands that label had signed over the course of the ’00s (what’s up, Escape the Fate?).
So here they are with a new album, once again going up against the Gaslight Anthem for my heart and mind.
To start, there’s not a whole lot here that’s different since From the Bottom. The band’s basic attack/M.O. hasn’t changed; catchy punk songs with gravelly vocals courtesy of singer/guitarist Ryan Young, and songs about generally morbid topics. Sure, there’s nothing with the attention-grabbing quality of “Fuck This, I’m Out’s” last refrain (“Might as well just kill myself tonight!/I don’t want to/But I don’t see any other way”), but this is still Off With Their Heads. They’re not stoked on life.
Or are they? On a few moments, Young almost sounds… well, not happy. I don’t think real, gleeful happiness is something that happens in the lyrical world of Off With Their Heads. But when they manage to slow it down with the penultimate song “My Episodes,” Ryan goes so far as to say “I’m just happy right now that your arms are around me.” So things aren’t as hopelessly dire this time around; despite the album title, desolation and despair doesn’t necessarily reign supreme. But they’re certainly there an awful lot. And thank goodness for that; I don’t think I’d buy any cheery Sicko-esque songs from these guys.
Musically, things are- with the exception of “My Episodes”- pretty much par for the course, which isn’t a bad thing. These guys are a tight musical outfit (despite an almost rotating cast of players, save for Young), and the tunes here will have you bobbing along and maybe throwing up your fist at your desk/in your car while you sing along, alienating yourself from your coworkers. It’s cool, I don’t judge. I’d do it too. Ryan’s vocals are, in places, a bit cleaner and less gravelly than in the past, but that certainly doesn’t detract from their sound.
If you liked From the Bottom, you will definitely enjoy In Desolation as much if not more so. The songs are well-crafted and played well, and the production sounds good to me. Top 10 material here, for sure. Punknews has it streaming, so go check it out!
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