March 4th, 2011 
James Shotwell 
Artist: Everyone Dies In Utah
Album: Seeing Clearly
Genre: Brocore/Synthcore
Label: Tragic Hero
With a name like Everyone Dies in Utah, there was an assumption that this release would be heavy with a little bit of humour on the side. Then the electronics happened.
The opening couple of tracks on Seeing Clearly are harmless enough, dare I say quite good, then “Dude… I Know It’s Everywhere” comes in. This song completely knocks the appeal of this album to me and began a downward spiral. While trying to have an open mind, I finished listening to the album and was left thoroughly underwhelmed and slightly bored. There seems to be a regurgitation of the same effects and guitar parts over and over again with the melodies being the slight saving grace. This is especially noticeable in the likes of “Bar Fightz and Disco Lightz.”
The whole tone of the album is bordering on monotony and while there is usually one aspect of a release that can save it, this release has a gap where that should be. There’s no challenge, no quirk or unexpected bit that makes it stand out from the crowd or would make you pay attention. For want of a better word, and to use colloquialism, it comes across as extremely ‘blah.’
I will admit that there were a few moments when my foot tapped along with the music, but these were few and far between. However brief these moments of appeal were, there was always a recurring feeling of unease when the auto tune returns- the perfect case in point: “Do What Diddy Did.”
As with every band out there, there will be people who will love this album and rate it highly. Personally, it seems like yet another release that no one will remember in a few months let alone years. It doesn’t have that je ne sais quoi that makes you want to put it on repeat or spend a lot of time listening to it. Maybe it’s because I’m an advocate for ‘less is more’, especially in the current musical climate with the technology that is available, but this sensibility is definitely applicable here. There were times when it seemed like a redeemable release, but with every redeemable quality came the overwhelming leer of some sort of effect. Opposed to being effective, it was a nuisance and completely detrimental to this full length.
Score: 4/10
Review written by: Naomi Carson
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Having heard the album several times now myself, I can’t help but think that you haven’t listened to it at all, but maybe just went down the song list titles to throw out in your obviously uninformed review. It’s almost like when a teacher reads a book review from a student that has never read past the table of contents. I suppose it can be fun to read just to pick it apart…but in the end, this review simply makes you appear like you just made it up. In no way do I think this album will go down in history, but it’s a far cry from monotony. You should listen before you review…it’ll be easier for you to keep your job.