Unglued Reviews

Releasing a double album is always a bold move for a musical act; I canā€™t think of any band that has managed to pull it off without including some filler. When youā€™re a precocious 23 year old and decide that your bandā€™s second major label record is going to be a two-disc, loosely-autobiographical concept album tracing the ups and downs of your first long term relationship, the level of chutzpah involved is almost breathtaking. However, Max Bemis, frontman of alternative rock band Say Anything, doesnā€™t fare too badly with In Defense Of The Genre.

Given the ambitious nature of the album ā€“ did I mention it features over 20 guest vocalists from notable bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, My Chemical Romance and New Found Glory? ā€“ itā€™s tempting to read too much into the artwork, which depicts a battle between children and geriatrics, especially given that disc one seems designed to correspond with youth and disc two the elderly. However, thereā€™s no real generational musical theme separating the two CDs: both predominantly feature the blend of pop-rock, emo and melodic punk that has won the band a passionate underground following, and the exceptions (the synth-driven, dancefloor-oriented Baby Girl, Iā€™m A Blur, minimalist Goodbye Young Tutor, Youā€™ve Now Outgrown Me, cabaret show tune That Is Why) are spread equally over each side.

A tendency to switch tempos and change styles within the one song could be considered showing off, but the frills are balanced by the profusion of hooks and the strength of core songs like the rocking highlight People Like You Are Why People Like Me Exist, awesome Vexed, angsty Have At Thee! and poppy This Is Fucking Ecstasy.

At nearly 90 minutes, In Defense Of The Genre is difficult to come to grips with at first, and it inevitably could have been stronger if it had been condensed, but there are surprisingly few dull spots over the recordā€™s 27 songs. A strong case for the defense.

Owen Heitmann