Review || Senses Fail - "If There's A Light, It Will Find You"

Senses Fail is probably one of the most youthful bands of our time. Over the span of their career, even on their weakest moments, they have never failed to deliver a remarkable album and "If There's A Light, It Will Find You" is no exception. Released on February 16th via Pure Noise Records, it's the band's seventh full length record.

There are two topics I want to address. One is the creativity behind the compositions. Senses Fail has this incredible ability to breathe new life into stereotypical elements of their older releases and rebrand them as beautifully melodic, less aggressive and non repetitive pieces. To put it this way; the quintet produces music in a way that, if any other band even thought of attempting by resurrecting trends from a decade ago, it would sound ridiculously outdated. ITALIWFY (acronyms are the bane of long titles) carries a nostalgic spirit which sounds more relevant than ever. This is mainly attributed to the band maturing -I know I've mentioned it many times in the past but age is an undeniable factor of growth. 

In addition to that, what makes this album so distinct is Buddy Nielsen. His voice has transcended the band's post-hardcore past with it's exceptional musicality. His performance on the album is real and honest, as his lyrics are particularly inspired by actual events in his life, like his wife almost passing while delivering their daughter (the album cover makes a great reference to that), but it's not whiny. If anything, his tone ranges from playful to poignant and everything in between. Even when he's singing about mortality or tackling capitalist ideals, he sounds like he's flying the flag for revolution. Of course this performance wouldn't be complete without the catchier parts (say, on "New Jersey Makes, The World Takes", that highly addictive No-oh-oh-oh).

"If There's A Light, It Will Find You" proves the band is still at the top of their game. It's understandable that a lot of older fans may feel betrayed but one should go beyond their subjective scope. Senses Fail are not in their 20's anymore; they are veterans who survived the shifting balance in their genre, which swept away quite a few of their peers, while they themselves haven't even budged. And to an extent it certainly explains the transition to predominantly clean vocals and the shift in the music direction. It's an album for the here and now, addressing mainly adult themes. It's moving, intense and mature. And it's perfectly fine.

8/10

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