Say Anything
Self-titled
RCA Records
November 3, 2009
Max Bemis and crew are out to make tiny teen scenesters swoon yet again.
Following up on their last album, Throughout the album are songs that draw inspiration from the days of Was A Real Boy, as well as those of Is A Real Boy, 'Fed to Death' comes off more as an intro song than its own standalone hit.
The second track, 'Hate Everyone,' is the band's first single off the album. The song is a bit faster and more punkish than most of Say Anything's previous songs and is a refreshing take on their music.
Don't be shocked to see 'Hate Everyone' listed alongside 'Alive with the Glory of Love,' 'Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too' and their other hits in the near future.
'Do Better,' the third track on the album, joins the ever-growing list of songs that stand as a testament to Max Bemis's lyrical prowess. In this song, Bemis tackles the complexity behind the meaning of life.
'Life is not a spark in space/ An episode of Though the lyrics in this song are some of Bemis's best, the repetitive instrumentals cause the song to grow a little stale by the halfway mark.
The first minute of 'Mara and Me' may make you feel like you're at a carnival, courtesy of the organ grinder-style keyboard. But the song changes pace dramatically, both in terms of instruments and lyrical meaning, when it pauses for a voiceover from the band's front man.
'Wait a second - I can't write the same d*** song over and over again,' says Bemis.
After Bemis's interruption, the song picks up and closes out with the closest thing to a Say Anything breakdown that fans will ever get.
'Ahhh…Men' has a much more personal touch to it as well. Through his lyrics, Bemis relays his uncertain feelings regarding the band's future as well as his own.
'We sit and trade wit and smoke and we cuss Talking about our friendly border drug bust/ And I know the future's cloudy and grey Record like mine, give up or go gay,' sings Bemis.
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