Armor For Sleep - Smile for Them
Rating
RIYL
Matchbook RomanceTokyo Rose
Valencia
Label
SireTracklist
1. Smile For The Camera2. Williamsburg
3. Somebody Else’s Arms
4. Hold The Door
5. Run Right Back In
6. Snow Globe
7. End Of The World
8. Stars In Your Eyes
9. Lullabye
10. Chemicals
11. My Saving Grace
12. Stand In The Spotlight
Users Rating |
Your RatingCreate an account or log in to rate this album |
Recent Ratings |
|
|
|
Armor For Sleep didn’t lose much credibility from their sophomore album, What To Do When You Are Dead. It had a great hyped-up start but it ended when the ‘fat lady sang’. Regardless, the album still hinted at the band’s debut Dream to Make Believe, so little hope was lost. As 2007 nearly comes to an end, the band is now miles away from their debut and knee deep in Smile For Them.
Once again, the album followed a concept. As much of a joke as a concept pop album was the first time, they tried it again. To make it worse, the concept was kept under lock and key, hyping the album a bit, until the album was released. Smile For Them, in a way, follows a similar concept to The Truman Show, described explicitly in “Smile For The Camera”. However, Ben Jorgenson decides to take it further by crafting philosophical lines examining and criticizing life and society with lines like “Everybody’s lost. Most people think they’re not.” Jorgensen’s Chuck Palahniuk inspiration wasn’t great enough to improve his writing.
Jorgenson never had a gift with words. The lyrics are very colloquial, yet he would write peculiar, nearly awkward, stories. Anyway you look at them, the introverted vocalist has a knack with being creepy as heard in the eerie “Hold The Door”. Seen in “Snow Globe” and the track’s fragmented composition, the song reflects an emotional instability. Only in a few tracks would the lyrics be catchy, like “Williamsburg” or “Run Right Back In”. Besides that, in the instrumentals is where the music gets its pop.
Though not as catchy on this album, Armor For Sleep is obviously still poppy and equally as loud. Regardless as to how soft a track would start, most climax to either an explosion or an on-going clash of instruments and ambience. Synth is a new component on Smile For Them which seems unavoidable nowadays. Tracks are more interesting, but the songs sound so processed the band would probably fail to deliver a proper live show. “End Of The World” is so reliant on enhancements, the track would be hollow when played live.
On the other hand, the new sound, though less authentic, is fairly enjoyable. “My Saving Grace” is a sparkling example of where the music, the lyrics, and the synth all work together. Also, Armor For Sleep can still pull off a slow song, “Lullaby”, with charm.
Inevitably, Armor For Sleep is a match for the mainstream. This time, the album lacks variation and timelessness. Overall, Armor For Sleep has strayed too far from originality. Smile For Them has singles. It isn’t a cohesive set of songs and it isn’t a legitimate concept ‘album’.
--Fiona Lee
Comments
Minnesota
Find me EVERYWHERE:
NJ
Every time I see something screech across the floor, and latch onto some guy's neck, and he screams and tries to pull it off, I have to laugh, because man, what is that thing?
Columbus, Ohio
Recommending: Anberlin, Interpol, Chamberlain, House of Heroes
Green Brook, NJ
SCV, CA
Waterloo, Ontario
Yeah I think their vocalist is amongst the worst in the genre. But instrumentally they're a solid group. This disk was super cheap so I picked it up, still not sure how I feel about it.
Top Ten of 2009 http://www.decoymusic.com/users/3747/top_tens/2009
Leeds, England
And is it really a concept album?
I saw Armor live and they were suprisingly great. I felt kinda sorry for them as there was probably about 50 people max there.
Florida, USA
Columbus, Ohio
Recommending: Anberlin, Interpol, Chamberlain, House of Heroes