Customer Reviews

Regulate the Chemicals

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I'll admit, I'm a sucker for haunting music and well-written emo/indie rock. I love twothirtyeight and other bands of the ilk (Pedro the Lion, Roadside et. all.). This album, whether you have the original and *short* takehold version or the lengthened Tooth and Nail re-release, is incredible. From songs like "The Hands of Men" to "The Bastard Son and the Spoiled One," the music seems to have transcended the idea of art and entertainment and moved into confession and questioning purposes in life. The lyrics are moving and understandable, touching on basic truths in an effective way. The line: "I'm not the gratefule bastard son, I'm the rich and spoiled one" gives a whole different perspective on common understandings of moral lessons.

Harder songs like "Songs Will Write the Words" are complemented by slow moving David Bazaan-esque songs like "Indian in Your Eyes." This album is wonderful, and is one of my favorites of all time. Though it surprises most of my fellow twothirtyeight addicts, I even prefer this album over the more recent album: "You Should be Living."

A quick anecdote, this past summer I was driving to a Sleep Center to undergo a sleep study, and I pulled into the parking lot listening to "Hands of Men" and the haunting line: "Sleep safely in the hands of men" was playing at the time...coincidence...yeah, probably, but it still made me think.

Incredible. Yes it is. And so refreshing... refreshing in the lyrical approach. It's like David Bazan quit making concept albums and decided to just sing about heartbreak and all that other emo stuff while still leaving room for plenty of clever observations about the human condition. The music is refreshing as well. This can fit in the whole emo/indie category I guess, but that sells it short. Once again, I'll reference Pedro The Lion... simple drum beats, great melodies, and singer-songwriter flourishes here and there. But where these guys manage to really set themselves apart is in the guitar sound. The guitars here are stinking HUGE... loud and brash riffs move things from the sweater clad crowd to the more generalized modern rock arena. And the hooks... wow! These guys really know how to make quirky guitar hooks and build a whole song around them. I can't tell you just how awesome this album is, and how it comes across so much more heartfelt than most of today's mainstream or indie scene.
Through all this incoherent babble, I'm trying to tell you that you seriously need to buy this. Not a bad song on here, you won't regret it.

Not too many other words can describe this cd. The lyrics, the melodies, just everything rolled into one package is just amazing. It is one of the few cd's where I don't want to skip a song...I can listen to the whole cd over and over again--and I have.

What i love most about this album is that it is very real, and very focused. The band sounds very mature and doesn't follow the crowd with songs about how much life sucks, but instead just about everyday life, and the view that they have of it. I'm so glad i discovered this band. They're like a rose in the desert, and thankfully i followed the mirage.
THe lyrics are great, and very focused, and also show just how talented the band is. Some of the songs are also very haunting, which makes this not just some album, but a sirious album that wants to be taken siriously.
I'd recommend this album to anyone who desires sirious punk rock, and a band of maturity.

Although i don't yet own this album,i've heard it many times. My cousin loves this band,and introduced me to them about 2 months ago. It was then that i too fell in love. I was first impressed by the music,which is truly amazing. When you hear the songs,you want to hear them over and over. Second,i was impressed by the quality of the lyrics. They convey emotions incredibly,and in clever ways. Overall,i can't wait until i can get this CD,because i already love it. i highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for GOOD music.