May 30th, 2012 
Tyler Osborne 
Artist: Misser
Album: Every Day I Tell Myself I’m Going to Be A Better Person
Genre: Pop-Punk/Punk
Label: Rise Records
Complete transparency: I generally hate side-projects. A lot of them are half-assed, boring, and just seem like material that didn’t fit as much into the original, more popular band’s newest album. There are obvious exceptions to the rule (Evan Weiss of Into It. Over It., side project Stay Ahead of The Weather), but generally side projects just don’t capture the same energy of a musician’s first project. Misser is one of those bands that proved to me that sometimes side projects can really surprise you. Misser is the brainchild of Transit’s Tim Landers and This Time Next Year’s Brad Wiseman, but it never feels like some knock-off brand of both these established bands. Their debut release Every Day I Tell Myself I’m Going to Be a Better Person is its own solitary work, that not only holds its own, but hits all the write notes and lyrics that cut through me when I listened to it on my train ride home this past Memorial Day weekend.
Musically, this album is so dense and fantastic. Tim Landers is credited with the guitar work on their Facebook page (there isn’t a physical release out yet that has liner notes to check with, however it a release is coming according to Misser’s Twitter), and while there are some obvious influences from his work in Transit, the new album is most certainly its own entity. When it’s fast and loud (“Reconnect This”), it flows so well, but when he decides to tone things down and get soft is when I think you really get to see the fantastic musicianship of Tim and the group. The guitars at points show love to so many different genres, may it be the emo stylings of American Football, or a fast paced The Get Up Kids style song. However the best part about all these different sounds is that they never feel forced or disjointed, but rather, everything coherently flows together. This album is a windows down, driving on the highway listen, as it gives you a lot of variety to listen to.
Lyrically, this album cut through me. A lot of Every Day I Tell Myself I’m Going to Be a Better Person deals with the problems of loss and of distance, may it be through being on tour or being away from someone for a long time. As someone who just got into a relationship with someone two weeks before she had to leave for home, a lot of these songs really hit home for me, and I’m sure will provide a way for me to think through the inherent problems of being so far away from someone you care about. Songs like “The Waits” (the lyrics of this song are EERILY similar to my personal life) honestly punched me in the face the first time I really listened to it, and it’s an emotional release that you can hear in both of the fantastic voices on the track. It details how there’s that sadness that comes with being so far away from someone you care about, because while you still have them, you don’t get to physically be around them as much as you’d like. That situation is a hard one, and it’s the kind of song that came out at the right time for me.
“She Didn’t Turn Out To Be That Cool” tells the story of a new love interest in someone’s life, and how he can’t wait to show and share this new interest all the different things he cares about and has grown to love. This song is juxtaposed with his discontentment that she has yet to fully come around to him yet, and that’s a feeling I can totally understand and relate to. Not sure if she’s reading this, but Christina this song is exactly what I was trying to explain to you about how April was for me. But back to the album, this record would not be half as good without the vocal presentation of both Tim and Brad. Their vocals work so well, if not too well together, switching between each other with high and low raspy lyrics. It’s a perfect blend that really rounds out this album sonically, and it made me really happy to hear both of these singers take the front seat as they generally provide backing vocals for their already established bands.
Since Misser is a side-project, there is no real way to tell to what extent the band will be playing shows, and creating new music. However I do know one thing: Misser’s debut full length Ever Day I Tell Myself I’m Going to Be A Better Person is a fantastic release that shows the range and quality of musicianship from both of the artists involved, and it’d be a real shame if the group didn’t pursue this further. I personally would love to see an East Coast tour, but I know that the distance between the two artists makes this very hard. If they ever announce a show around you, do everything you can to get to it, because Misser is a rare gem of a project that goes down in my book as both one of my favorite side-projects, but also a favorite album of the year thus far.
Download the album on iTunes here, but also check out a stream of the album via Spotify at the bottom of the page!
SCORE: 9/10
Written By Tyler Osborne (Follow him on Twitter to read passive aggressive lyrics he probably didn’t write that are obviously about someone or his life)
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