Senses Fail are a New Jersey post-hardcore outfit that have had a huge impact on my initial experiences with the genre. From humble beginnings in the very early 2000s, this notable element in the core world has gone through countless line-up changes since its formation, leaving lead vocalist/frontman James Nielsen as the final remaining original member. The band also spawned an impressive seven full length albums that it proudly holds under its belt, with the first two releases possessing a prominent and lasting impact that has stayed with me since my middle school days. But now, their newest release is finally upon us.
Unveiled officially through the band's current Pure Noise record label just last week, If There Is Light, It Will Find You presents itself as the band's seventh and most recent full length album. It consists of a dozen tracks of solid post-hardcore music that clocks in at over forty minutes of content. The themes on the album mostly center around death, struggles of life, real world issues and more.
From the very start, this album is pretty energetic and has a lot of emotional basis to it. The little nostalgic throwbacks to older post-hardcore and emo music is a refreshing touch in some points and the band often follows a formula similar to that of their previous efforts, albeit with slight changes. A lot of the strumming riffage and high-pitched clean vocals returns yet again. The uncleans are put on the backburner, with an emphasis on singing akin to emo rock. Most of the songs are about three or four minutes in length, with one track being around two minutes and the outro, self-titled track being the longest at six minutes. These lengths overall are decent, but I seemed to enjoy the faster paced songs like "Double Cross" and "Orlando and a Miscarriage" more since they reminded me of the band's previous efforts. Some of the melodies are catchy as well.
As far as the negatives go, there are only a few things that I could mention. For one, the repetitive structures of the songs kind of makes an impression later on when you've been listening to it for a while. Personally, I wish they dabbled with the vocal variety a bit more as well...maybe adding some more uncleans or something to that effect. Otherwise, this album is a fairly enjoyable one.
Senses Fail are definitely still on the top of their game, given all of the years that they've been making this type of music. After listening to this new effort, I am convinced that with their current sound they can still keep it going for a long time, despite the flaws. This bold little album is filled with modern aesthetics that clash with some nostalgic "feels" moments here and there...and, for that, I can safely say that this fairly entertaining offering is one you shouldn't miss out on.
Fave Tracks: "Double Cross", "Is It Gonna Be The Year?"
For Fans Of: post-hardcore, newschool and oldschool; emo rock
**This album is available now at MerchNow!**
-----------------------
Support your fave artists and musicians!
-Review by: Dave Raffy
Musician, reviewer, fan & promoter
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with others to help us grow. You can also like and follow us on the social media of your choice with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon.