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Say Anything - Anarchy, My Dear

Rating

RIYL

Forgive Durden
Motion City Soundtrack
House of Heroes
Saves the Day

Release Date

03/13/2012

Label

Equal Vision

Tracklist

1. Burn a Miracle
2. Say Anything
3. Night's Song
4. Admit It Again
5. So Good
6. Sheep
7. Peace Out
8. Overbiter
9. Of Steel
10. Anarchy, My Dear
11. The Stephen Hawking

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Recent Ratings
benny06

Before the release of Say Anything's newest album, singer Max Bemis said Anarchy, My Dear was the band’s first attempt at writing a true “punk” record. They wanted to present the “edgier” side of the band. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the album is more dull than edgy. Despite giving their best effort, Say Anything end up saying little.

The band wanted to recapture the feelings of their best effort …Is A Real Boy, and there’s even a sequel to that album’s standout track “Admit It” found here. Sadly, I will admit that it’s not that good. While Bemis is known for his biting commentary, he would also direct that judging eye to himself, which made for an quirky charm. Now in “Admit It Again” he sounds more like a bitter old man than anything else, which does not suit the band well. The other element of Say Anything’s charm was the enjoyably crass humor in the lyrics. This is all restrained on Anarchy, My Dear, creating a serious tone that does little to help further the band.

While there is nothing as enjoyable as “Skiksa (Girlfriend)” or “Wow, I can Get Sexual Too,” the band still knows how to write a song. Instead of swinging for the fences like in past releases, Say Anything now seems content to get a base hit. This more subdued style fits well on songs like “Peace Out” and “Say Anything," with the former features the band in laid back form, but the solid lyrics and catchy chorus find the band in their natural element. The latter is a pretty basic love song but performed with the spark that the band is capable of igniting. “Burn a Miracle” is another standout track, sounding (surprisingly) much like House of Heroes. Maybe that is the ultimate issue with the album--while the band wanted to reinvent and improve themselves with their fifth studio release, it sounds less like Say Anything and more like a band trying too hard to be something. Anarchy, My Dear is an album that begs the listener to buck the rules and think for himself or herself. Maybe the band should have listened to their own message; the album would be better off for it.

Say Anything’s latest release is not a failure necessarily, but it finds the band regressing away from their winning formula. Maybe change for the sake of change is a bad idea.

--Nick Senior