Senses Fail. One of the true veterans of the early/mids 00’s emo boom we all try to deny we were a part of back in our teenage years. Whilst many of these bands fell by the wayside, or were simply lost to the passing of time, Senses Fail keep coming back like a nasty rash (more like the proverbial turd that won’t flush – Tony). Returning once again with their seventh album ‘If There Is A Light, It Will Find You’.
I’ll be honest here: In my entire 26 year existence on this planet, I’ve avoided Senses Fail and bands like them like a modern day plague. The only reason Senses Fail made it onto my radar at all is because their (now ex) drummer Chris Hornbook, who as well as being a truly cracking drummer, used to perform in the excellent metalcore combo, Poison the Well. This would normally be more than enough for me to check a band out, but given Senses Fail’s track record, I’ve steered well clear until now.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Opening track ‘Double Cross’ sounds like something you’d cherry pick out of your early teen MySpace years. Like, literally unearthed it out of a time capsule. There was a time and place for this stuff. But it wasn’t even that bearable back then, and it really isn’t now. This theme continues with follow up track ‘Elevator to the Gallows’, only this time with the clichéd breakdown you just knew was waiting around the corner.
In fact, if anything, you can guess every trope, cliché and blueprint this record follows before you even hear it. How a band has gotten away with making the same record, seven times over in a career of nearly seventeen yearsjust astounds me. Granted, they’ve tried to break new ground by touching more upon political themes (now that singer Buddy is a dad and obviously has to sing about more grown up things). Normally, something like this is more than enough to snag my interest. This however, compared to other current politically-charged artists, barely passes for a warm, stale piss of an understatement. This is nothing more than self-indulgent whining, rather than a revolutionary call to arms.
If you’re looking for an embarrassing blast from the past, then this record is everything you’ve been looking for. In short, if you see this in a record shop, do yourself a favour and put it back down. Go pick up a New Found Glory or a Saves the Day record instead. That’s worth your time, money and attention. Not this.
Obviously, you should take the opportunity to judge for yourselves:
2/10
