Boy Sets Fire - The Misery Index Notes from the Plague Years

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RIYL

Grade
Stretch Arm Strong Beloved
The Black Maria

Tracklist

1. Walk Astray
2. Requiem
3. Final Communique
4. The Misery Index
5. (10) And Counting
6. Falling Out Theme
7. Empire
8. So Long... And Thanks For The Crutches
9. With Cold Eyes
10. Deja Coup
11. Social Register Fanclub
12. Nostalgic For Guillotines
13. A Far Cry

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Recent Ratings

Boy Sets Fire is a tough band for me to put my finger on when it comes to describing them. Their influences vary so greatly that sometimes I don’t even know the direction they came from or where they are heading. They weave through The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years with their intricate styles of hardcore, rock, and metal. After being on Wind Up records for quite some time, Boy Sets Fire has liberated themselves, and turned to Equal Vision to house Misery Index. Personally, I believe that Equal Vision is one of the better indie record labels. Just as as a personal aside.

Through my first listen, it sounded like Boy Sets Fire had taken a softer stance on this CD. The disc ebbs between ballad and metal war cry. Each song presents a different part of the band that wasn’t shown in the last song. “With Cold Eyes”, “Requiem”, “10 and Counting”, and “The Misery Index” prove that the band took a more mild approach on Notes from the Plague Year. It also sounds like they’ve matured as a band, and found their niche and what kind of music they want to end up playing.

The songs “Final Communique”, “Walk Astray” and “A Far Cry” showcases their heavier side, which I prefer. My favorite track on the CD, “So Long… And Thanks for the Crutches” is probably the most memorable. The song starts with cabaret piano, and then leads into a crunching guitar. In the songs chorus, the effect that the guitar uses sounds like that of a used accordion. “So Long…” is the “Rookie” of this CD. Speaking of “Rookie”, there is a special treat at the end of “A Far Cry” that all past Boy Sets Fire fans would enjoy.

This CD is a little hit or miss for me in the end. The boys are straying away from the sound that I enjoy and more toward the ballad-esque rock. Either you'll enjoy or loathe the progressive changes that Boy Sets Fire made to their sound from Tomorrow Comes Today. Overall The Misery Index is a solid release, despite the fact that they have strayed from the sound that brought me to their music in the first place.

--Sam MacLean

Author

Unsupersam
Last updated: 09/29/2009 08:54PM

Comments

Rick Gebhardt
03/03/2006
01:23PM
Age: 31
Location
Minnesota
I still don't know how to feel about this album yet. It's definitely way more mellow than I would have liked, but they do a decent job of crafting said mellow songs. On one hand I would have loved another raw and aggressive effort like After the Eulogy but then again bands mature and I think Boysetsfire is doing a good job slowly growing up and morphing their sound.

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