Mid-Year Album Reviews, Part 2 (Meg & Dia)

[urgencytobleed]

Wow, this album completely crept up on me without my permission but how happy I am now that it has; I've been listening to almost nothing else for the past couple days. I listened to it once previously, wasn't too impressed with any of it, and have since made no effort to give it another try. However, my sister is a big fan of theirs so she's been playing it incessantly and somehow through that, many of these songs have managed to wriggle their way inside of my head and refused to go away. I couldn't keep the melodies from looping over and over in the back of my mind so I finally gave in and actually gave the entire album another proper listen and I was pretty floored by the time it finished. No, it's not anything revolutionary but it's some extremely solid pop music: consistently high quality melodies, above-average lyrics and performances, and massive replayability. This has suddenly wormed its way up into a very high position on my list of releases this year that have impressed me and I imagine it will probably stay there through to the year's end. Out of thirteen tracks, there are only three I'd consider less than stellar and even those have their moments, and the whole thing just flies by, even when I'm playing half the songs three times before forcing myself to move on. That's pretty impressive to me.

One of the songs that first caught my ear was "What If" and it definitely serves as a good indicator of the album's overall sound. It is, in my mind, exactly what a perfect pop-punk song should sound like (I realize it's more pop than punk but we're going by the current warped definition of the term here); it is not dissimilar to Paramore but much better. If the world was just and right and everything that got radio play wasn't utter shit, this song would make these girls a household name. It's catchy enough to be immediately gripping but it's also got an aggressive edge to it that gives it massive staying power. Many of the album's best tracks - including "Going Away", "Inside My Head", "One Sail", and my personal favorite, "Fighting for Nothing" - follow a similar formula. Their infectious choruses and Dia's engaging vocals - she sounds like a sweet, bubbly girl-next-door in one moment only to sound like she could punch you in the face the next - are what initially draw you in but, once you've had the opportunity to dig into them a bit deeper, it becomes clear that there is much more bubbling under the surface than is immediately apparent. These songs aren't full of sunshine and unbridled happiness; they're actually rather black underneath their shiny pop exteriors, with lyrics focusing mainly on gathering enough strength to escape and move past a passionate but extremely unhealthy relationship. Dia delivers these raw confessions - "My boyfriend used my palm as an ashtray/And that was on his good days", "I've got my mouth/It's a weapon/It's a bombshell/It's a cannon... I've got my words/I hope they hurt you/I hope they scar you/I hope they heal you", "I wanted to tell you I lied/I said I'd make it through this world alright/But I don't care to try" - with such intensity that they come across as even more brutal than they are on their own. Her recollections are sometimes uncomfortably blunt and frank - "A coward's piss-stained pants", "Your vomit, it forms a gold chain 'round your neck" - but never unnecessarily so; she feels every word so deeply that you hurt right along with her. It takes a lot of courage to write lyrics so honest and personal, especially when they're so bleak. I highly recommend you read Dia's explanation of what this album means to her here; she opens up even more.

The album only falters when it tries too hard to be different. "Are There Giants Too, In the Dance?" and "Agree to Disagree" both experiment with subtle genre-hopping with minimal success; they're not bad songs but they're easily among the weakest. "Bored of Your Love", a duet with Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T's, is pretty but, in line with the title, quite boring and forgettable. I'll admit, though, that a lot of my distaste for it is likely due to my annoyance with Tom's voice/face/band; I'd probably like it a lot more if anyone but him was guesting. In other places, the experimentation works much better. For the verses of "The Last Great Star in Hollywood", Dia adopts a posh faux-British accent which seems like it should be a mess but actually sounds extremely cool, and in "Kiss You Goodnight", her voice takes on a bluesier vibe that perfectly compliments the melancholy lyrics and melody. Overall, however, the album shines brightest when they stick to what they do best: upbeat, catchy pop songs infused with punk rock attitude and intensity. Now if you'll excuse me I think I'm going to go listen to it again.

• What If
• Inside My Head
• Fighting for Nothing
• Kiss You Goodnight

Buy it.

Comments

[msmoocow.livejournal.com]

You summed up my thoughts perfectly on Last Great Star -- she started singing and I was like "...wtf", but by the second round of Britishness I was hooked.

Also, "Fighting for Nothing" is my favorite track, "Bored of Your Love" makes me want to name a kitten Tom Higgenson and then drown it, and my massive girlcrush on Dia grows more every time she growls out one of those aggressive lines.

[urgencytobleed.livejournal.com]

I agree with pretty much everything you've said but especially the part about Tom Higgenson. Hahaha, that's awesome.