Album Review: Say Anything "Self-Titled"

When I was an adolescent trying to find myself, filled with teen angst, and a broken heart; I used to look up to a man named Chris Carrabba. You might know him from a band named Dashboard Confessional. As a hopeless romantic, I used to praise Carrabba for opening himself up to anyone that was willing to listen to him. And through every Dashboard Confessional record you can hear Chris' progression as a song writer as well as the progression in his personal life. I might be going on a limb here, but to me Max Bemis is the new Chris Carrabba. Except he's the more brash version. Max Bemis is the lead-singer/songwriter/heart&soul of this band. And with every record he becomes a much better singer, songwriter, and lyricist.

In 2007, Say Anything released a record named "In Defense of the Genre" and though I've been a fan of their previous work, this album completely blew me away. It was my favorite album of 2007. It had heart, guest appearances from anyone who is anyone in the "scene," and it was just a great testament to love and loss. But what got me more than anything was Max's way of opening himself up to his listeners, making his life an open book.

So fast forward to 2009... Their "Self-Titled" album is in stores today.



The first single from the album is named "Hate Everyone" and it really brings back Max's brash lyric writing from his past records. And the name of the song pulls no punches, it definitely is about him hating everyone.



"Eloise" is the single most heartbreakingly beautiful song on the record. To me, it's about letting go of someone that made you believe that you meant something that you really weren't to them. That's just my interpretation of the song.

Band-Aid, just a bloody Band-Aid. That’s all I ever really was to you Eloise.
A soldier with a syndrome, the dreams of childrens’ screams.
You molded, you shaped, like a god who loathed to create.
Two Band-Aids, two infected Band-Aids, that’s all we really were to each other Eloise.
A couple of stupid kids, throwing a ball back and forth, to see who drops it first!



While "Eloise" may be an emotional low for the album, "Crush'd" is definitely the emotional high point of the album. In one word this song is: cute. Cute plain and simple, it's about falling in love with a girl. In this case, Max's wife Sherry (you might know her from the band Eisley). This song is fucking adorable, even the end where he sings; "Did it hurt, did it hurt when you fell from heaven girl?" In most cases that line would be considered to be grossly cheesy, but not the way Max lays it down in this song.

You're no witch, you're no wench, you're like Bjork with better fashion sense...



"Property" is quite an interesting look on a relationship. I love the song, but I'll just let the monologue speak for itself...

Baby I know you've got all those crazy, lofty goals
Going to art school and following your dreams and whatnot
Blah blah blah
Just throw it to the side; you know I can support us all on my own
And worst case I'll just have to sell some drugs to my little brother's friends
If you do have to sell your body once or twice or seven times, it'll be worth it
And trust me, one day my band is going to make it
and this will all be just a distant, distant dream




Those are just 4 songs that stood out in my mind, but believe me this album is good in whole. The songs are all so catchy and even the songs that I find to not be my favorite tracks, I sing along to. This album has been stuck on repeat for me the last couple of days. I can't put it down. Max's song/lyric writing ability also staggers me. He brings you through a spectrum of emotions, it even made me burst out in laughter a couple times. There's actually this line in the song "Mara and Me" about the Kings of Leon which is completely hilarious and it made me replay it 4 or 5 times on first listen. There aren't many albums that I can laugh at, unless they are that bad.

Bottom line: This album is definitely a must-listen. It's got heart, it's got teeth, it'll make you feel all kinds of funny feelings you've never felt before, you'll laugh, you'll cry, and so far this is a very strong "Album of 2009" candidate for me. I love this album first to last song, bar none. Slight fans will increase their love for the band and hopefully this brings them new fans as well. Please give it a try, it's got my seal of approval!

Stay gold.
-Juicy Justin.