If you haven't read our recent interview with Boys Night Out, now might be a good time to. In it, Jeff Davis (guitar, vocals) mentions that the band has undergone radical changes and that the sound and scene that BNO make and set have been refocused.
That... sounds about right. With their third release, BNO has put out an entirely new kind of album, from who's playing to what's being said. And really; Trainwreck stands out in in a big way. The entire album is based around an unusual interpretation of the Grief Process�only it has about twelve steps, and some deviate slightly from the central theme of King-Of-Hearts-style psycho doctor music.
Despite the little things that make each song an individual, it is still very clear that BNO is demonstrating a steady trend, lyrically speaking. The songs revolve around hospitals, doctors, treating insanity, drugs; all that "House, M.D." stuff.
It is with melody, rather, that BNO make their songs unique. As mentioned, the lineup has changed quite a lot since Make Yourself Sick, but things appear to be working out well for them, as far as playing as a band goes; the songs each have easily distinguishable rhythms and instrumentals, and from song to song, the influences of new band members can be heard and felt.
But enough about their stylistic changes. The tracks speak for themselves of the metamorphoses that have taken place.
With "Introducing" (and "Dying", but I'll get to that) we have the scene very bluntly set for us; the song begins with talking, to a background of slow guitar, minimum bass and drums. Not typical for anyone, least of all the fast-paced, hardcore BNO that fans are used to. "Introducing" begins a broad storyline that traces its way throughout the album, right up to "Dying"; "Dreaming", "Waking", and "Sentencing" continue (with their song titles) the strange journey that the album seems to be making, but in fact define an unusual range; "Dreaming" is a sort of repetitive, generic emo-pop song that falls back on random upset angsting and unfinished swells of music, but "Waking" is a slower, more focused song about denial, and "Sentencing" lies somewhere inbetween�not one of BNO's greatest, but fun to jam to.
"Medicating", however, is one of my favourite songs of the album. One of the best-written songs, it's remarkably catchy and awesome to sing along to, because in addition to the rocking guitar/drums combos, the lyrics are good, and aren't screamed. And then there's the a capella part in the middle that you clap along to; it's a good song.
"Purging" is more in the vein of "Dreaming", but with "Relapsing", things are slowed down a little, and Karen Dupuy's vocals are showcased. A nice, much slower song, it fits the theme of the rest of the CD lyrically, but is rhythmically kind of incongruous�in a good way, though. It's my third favourite track of the album.
"Recovering" is a sort of middleground track of the album, wedding distinguishable snatches of song with screamo (Think Hawthorne Heights) but after "Recovering" comes "Composing". That title may not fit with the rest of the recovering-psycho-title trend, but it's a beautiful song. Somewhat longer and with a few more distortions and reverb effects than on the Warped Tour Soundtrack, where I first heard the song, but immensely well-written; it really, really sticks in your head, clearly, and stands out from the rest of the songs as being well-done in many aspects.
With "Disintegrating"and "Healing", we have another two lyrically strong songs. The lyrics are simpler with "Healing", but nonetheless, it's a good one to sing along to (music this magnificent and medicine are one and the same...)
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The album ends on the same note as it begins. "Dying", is pretty much just like "Introducing". Some of an odd song, and then Ken Greenberg talking over the guitar. A little strange, but hey, it makes the album what it is. So go ahead and give this one a listen. It may not be what you expect, it may not be what you want. But BNO has put out a couple of good strong albums, this being one of them, and since they're trying something new, I'd suggest you do too.
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A.F. '05 |
