Cymbals Eat Guitars - Pretty Years

Cymbals Eat Guitars
Pretty Years
2016
Spotify

Indie Rock has taken a bit of a hit in recent years. You simply don't hear that style of music being on the forefront anymore, nor bands really elevating or evolving the genre. Indie got pretty comfortable in a folky rocky sound and for some reason stayed. Mumford and Son's made an attempt at evolution and got panned for it, but where other bands have failed Cymbals Eat Guitars seems to have figured out the combination, part of it at least. Pretty Lights follows up their widely loved LOSE and really is one of the first times that Indie has sounded modern again. The first track "Finally" soars yet still has this grittiness to it that makes it really make sense. In the time between LOSE and Pretty Lights the band spent the majority of their time touring with Say Anything, Modern Baseball and Brand New however they picked up very little of the emo-ness from those bands and instead have their own really distinct sound. They are able to grapple with really heavy issues about grief and loss, but manage to wrap the sentiment up in really fun upbeat hooks. "Wish" sounds almost like a diddy with how loose and free it is, but it still is incredibly in-depth and intriguing. It doesn't hurt that because Joseph D'Agostino's voice is so raspy and not great that it makes it easy to sing right along. However his vocals aren't off putting they are more endearing, showing you a band that knows it isn't perfect yet they are perfectly ok with that.

There are times like on "Dancing Days" where D'Agostino can almost sound like Muse's frontman, but then never fully commits to singing well enough to reach those heights. "4th of July, Philadelphia (SANDY)" is the first time the album really makes a big stumble. This song is just to distorted and repetitive to really make an impact. The song also happens to be the point where the record tends to shift more towards the punk rock side of things. The pace increases, the words become less singy and more yelly and chord chart shrinks significantly. "Beam" almost sounds a bit like early Thursday, but they never go all in with the aggression, there is always a release valve on each track to make them less abrasive. The record sails quite quickly ending before you even know it yet still making an impact. There likely is not enough invention or a groundswell of people clamoring for this music to have Pretty Lights really make an impact, however it is a nice little album and one that is certianly worth you time.

7.1 out of 10