Screamo (scream and emo combinbed, get it?) is the latest trend with the hardcore kids, and one needs only to look at the success of Thursday, the now defunct At The Drive-In and Under Oath to realise that this subgenre is (very) quickly becoming commercially viable. And it’s understandable: kids who were into New Found Glory, Saves The Day and The Ataris two years ago have become fed up with the presence of 14 year-olds in their scene, and have since moved on to more aggressive, depressing pastures. And while I respect all the elements of this sound – the mathcore (think a way toned-down version of Candiria or God Forbid), the Incubus-meets-Fugazi-meets-Haste vocals, and the start-stop action – I just picture so many disgruntled emo-kids moshing to this, seeking catharsis in a record that, when you analyse it to its very core, is kind of formulaic. Maybe I’m not the best person to be reviewing this disc, but the whole affair comes off as hollow. It’s all so pseudo-aggressive, pseudo- dark, pseudo-disgruntled. You know the fan that just picked this album up is either pissed of at his girlfriend for breaking up with him, or angry that mom and dad won’t let him stay out past curfew. I mean, I can already picture kids wearing This Day Forward hoodies. And that pisses me right off.

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