Bayside “Cult” Album Review
Bayside
Cult
Hopeless Records
Review by Jacob Ray
Here is my previous experience with Bayside; I saw them last year with Off With Their Heads and Alkaline Trio and they weren’t bad. Then there was this time in high school where I was talking to this girl I liked and she was wearing a Bayside shirt. At the time, Bayside and the Bouncing Souls were touring together. I didn’t listen to Bayside but I loved the shit out of the Souls (and still do), so I asked her if she was going to the show. She said yes but she was going to show up late because the other bands were, “terrible.” I never spoke to her ever again, and also, did not go to the show, because I got grounded. So to be quite honest, I have never really paid much attention to Bayside and this album is actually the first album that I’ve listened to all the way through, multiple times.
2.18.14
Track List
1. “Big Cheese”
2. “Time Has Come”
3. “Hate Me”
4. “You’re No Match”
5. “Pigsty”
6. “Transitive Property”
7. “Stuttering”
8. “Bear With Me”
9. “Objectivist on Fire”
10. “Something’s Wrong”
11. “The Whitest Lie”
My first thoughts after popping this CD into my car’s stereo were, “Fuck, am I actually gonna listen to this?” to “Hey this riff is kind of cool,” to, “I forgot Anthony Raneri has the voice of an angel, and this is pretty catchy” to “Do I actually like this?” and the answer is yes, I do like this. “Big Cheese” was the track that surprised me. Like I already mentioned, it’s super catchy, it’s got a cool riff, and there is an even cooler guitar solo, none of which I was expecting, because my pre-conceived notion of Bayside’s sound was more like the second song, “Time Has Come” which is a Warped Tour Pop Punk song through and through with plenty of “Woahs” to go around and even a little auto-tune thrown in, which I’m not too crazy about. The band makes a nice recovery on “Hate Me”. I really like the vocal melody on this song, it’s very catchy and it’s kind of heavy, and I think it’s one of the better songs on the album.
Two songs that really kind of sound the same and didn’t really resonate with me are “Your No Match” and “Transitive Property”. They are slower-tempo, pop songs, and while they make sense with the arrangement of the album, I think they are kind of boring, but, they are better than “Time Has Come”. It is becoming apparent that I prefer the mid-tempo songs on this record, and “Pigsty”, “Suttering”, and “Bear With Me” are all very strong tracks that kept me interested. Especially “Stuttering” which has some of the strongest lyrics on the album. They are about the pressures of being held in such high regard by a fan base who considers many of your lyrics to be gospel, and also includes, what I can only assume, is a nice little stab at Victory Records.
One of the highlights of this album is Anthony Raneri’s voice. He could probably make pop music and make a lot more money that he has with Bayside, but he hasn’t done that up to this point and I think that is something to be respected. A prime example of his talent is the song, “Objectivist on Fire”. On this track he shows great range and thoughtful lyrics and this might be my favorite song on the record. The album comes to an end with “Something’s Wrong” and “The Whitest Lie”, both of which are solid, catchy tracks that end the album on a good note. The lyrics on “The Whitest Lie” are charmingly sappy and after the song came to a close, I did something that, before actually listening to the album, I didn’t think I would ever do; I listened to the new Bayside album 4 or 5 times in a row. While some of the tracks by themselves are not all that great, as a whole this album is awesome and I will probably take the time to give Bayside’s earlier work a solid listen as well.
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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