Pierce The Veil - A Flair For The Dramatic

LABEL:

Equal Vision

GENRE:

Emo/Hardcore

RELEASE:

June 26, 2007

LENGTH:

40 min 50 sec

RATING:

If you've never heard of Pierce The Veil, I certainly don't blame you. In fact, a couple years ago, before they changed their name, they were called Before Today, and even then they would have definitely been an obscure reference in any conversation. In any case, I had the pleasure of owning the only full length released under their previous moniker, entitled A Celebration Of An Ending. Its contents were a rare treat, a combination of fast-paced punk rock beats and riffs, intricate hardcore melodies, introspective lyrics, respectable harmonies and a voice suited for emo, only not quite enough to be terribly dull and irritating. And best of all, there appeared to be no gimmick, just music. There was even a good instrumental track at the end. Be still, my beating heart! I've enjoyed the hell out that record for the past few years, but the band has since had two huge problems. The first one is figuring out who the hell they want to be. Between then and now, they have lost members, changed their name and brought some newcomers on board. Keeping with tradition, the band's new name is identical to the title of the most popular song from their previous album. So they recorded a new record that I was pretty excited about, but unfortunately the results were not quite what I was hoping for. Which brings me to the other glaring issue.

For a hint about what I mean, just take a look at the album cover. Give me a break. It doesn't get any worse than a depressed bride on a bed in a black room. This looks like something I would expect to see on the next AFI record. In fact, pretty much every song on this album has a ridiculous title that screams... well... screamo. Needless to say, it looked disappointing, but how did it sound? Well, it sounds exactly like it looks. Gone are the punk beats, in favor of the more popular, dramatic post-hardcore sound, complete with more blood-curdling screams than before and a total bastardization of the harmonies from A Celebration Of An Ending. It begins with "Chemical Kids And Mechanical Brides" and "Currents Convulsive," which are both decent songs, until the latter picks up bizarre Michael Jackson-esque transitions that just rub me the wrong way. "Yeah Boy and Doll Face," stupid name and all, could easily be a Fall Out Boy song, which is, needless to say, pretty disheartening. Next is "I'd Rather Die Than Be Famous," which tries to make up for the bubble gum in the last song by throwing tons of incoherent screams in the background, which are nothing but overkill if you ask me.

I could probably put up with all of that if the rest of the album wasn't so boring. After a few more songs, I forget what I'm listening to. And let's get back to the titles shall we? "The Cheap Bouquet," "She Sings In The Morning", "The Balcony Scene," "Diamonds and Why Men Buy Them." Really? Someone let Pierce The Veil know that all the shitty screamo bands that no one cares about anymore called and want their shtick back. Not to mention that the slower songs on this album are so unlistenable, it makes me want to write a sad song about it. Perhaps I'm being a little too harsh for a band that's apparently trying to find itself, but for crying out loud, A Celebration Of An Ending was a fantastic album, and this one is just lousy by comparison. I think the biggest problem I have with this band is that they gave up their solid sound for something more digestible by teenagers that have terrible taste in music. It straight up pisses me off. By itself, A Flair For The Dramatic could probably earn two stars, but upon pitting it up against its predecessor, I want to give it a zero. We can all learn a lesson from this: don't sell out your talent for something that sounds like shit. Shame on them and thank goodness they changed their name, so as not to tarnish what they used to be. What a waste.