Unglued Reviews

After Bayside lost their drummer John “Beatz” Holohan in a 2005 road accident that also left bassist Nick Ghanbarian with a broken back, guitarists Anthony Raneri (also the lead vocalist) and Jack O’Shea indicated that the band would carry on as a going concern by recording and releasing the Acoustic studio-EP-and-live-DVD set (including the song Winter, a tribute to Holohan’s memory). The Walking Wounded is the next step, with a recovered Ghanbarian returned to the fold and dynamite new drummer Chris Guglielmo completing the lineup for a full-blown new album.

Despite the tragedy the band has gone through (and the album title), The Walking Wounded is not the miserable affair one might reasonably expect. Of course, the band have always been purveyors of gloomy, sombre rock in the vein of Alkaline Trio, and Raneri’s voice is still generally mournful, but this set of songs is surprisingly optimistic. Not all the time: They’re NOT Horses, They’re Unicorns alone demonstrates that the band can still do loveless and forsaken, but the likes of I And I (“I and I, we’re taking control of our lives / Everything’s alright”), uplifting Weezer-like Landing Feet First and the almost chirpy single Duality give the album a positive feel overall.

Although maybe not what was expected, existing fans could not fail to be pleased with this offering, and songs such as the muscular title track – which boasts an invigorating riff, killer solo and guest vocals from I Am The Avalanche’s Vinny Caruana (as well as an odd but welcome detour which briefly sees the song become a tuba-embellished waltz) – and Choice Hops And Bottled Self Esteem all but guarantee that this album will win the group scores of new followers.

Owen Heitmann