Under the Gun Review

REVIEW: That’s Outrageous! – Psycho

October 10th, 2012 Kriston McConnell
That's Outrageous!

Artist: That’s Outrageous!
Album: Psycho
Genre: Pop/Post Hardcore
Label: InVogue Records

That’s Outrageous! will be dropping their sophomore studio album Psycho October 16 via InVogue Records. Like their debut album, Teenage Scream, they are sticking with the pop elements mixed with their post hardcore sound. This time around there is significantly more electronic influence which is pretty much in every track but the 1 minute acoustic track near the end of the album.

Where to begin? Let’s start from the top. To give you an idea of how the album sounds like, if Breathe Carolina and For All Those Sleeping had an illegitimate child, this is what he would sound like. (Not that I don’t like Breathe Carolina, I do). Bottom line – lots of synth, auto-tuned vocals, screaming and heavy bass.

The title track, “Psycho”, really has the potential to be a good song and is probably one of the best on the entire album. Aside from some weak lyrics and the clean vocals (which are my least favorite thing about this album) the rest of the elements sound pretty good. I bet if they got rid of the clean vocals all together they’d sound badass.

The only other track really worth mentioning is “Obliviate”, which you can also listen to below. It’s the first single off the album, and it’s similar to “Psycho” in the sense that it doesn’t have too much electronic sound mixed in. The stronger parts of this particular song definitely overpower the weaker parts.

Overall, this album is just a little underwhelming. They mean well, but that’s really only part of what it takes to put out a solid record. If you are looking for the pop-like, dubstep kind of music to add to your library then you will probably want to give this album a whirl. If you are looking for a band that will reinforce your passion for post hardcore music then steer clear. Some of the songs sound like they are trying to be a post hardcore band, and other songs feel like they are trying to be an electronic dance band. While some of that is very popular right now, it would be good to find a happy middle.

SCORE: 4.5/10
Review written by Kriston McConnell

Kriston McConnell

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  • Travi0

    Terrible review. You obviously didn’t put enough listen into this album.

  • Ilija Necovski

    Good Review, well written and explains the album pretty good. Psycho was a disappointment and people should know that, you look at AP and can clearly tell that they paid for the review, 4 out of 5, really? the album isn’t terrible by any means but the electronics over power everything! the little bit of heavy they had on “Teenage Scream” is gone and the lyrics are still complete crap. The cleans sound overly produced this time around, and the unclean vocalist isn’t bad but he defiantly isn’t putting anything new or refreshing into the mix, just your typical post hardcore screams. I was one of the few people I know supporting these guys but with this album they just lost a fan, I suggest listening to their label mate’s BEING AS AN OCEAN, their debut album “Dear G-d…” is amazing, every review is a 10/10, there’s passion, good lyrics, well written guitar, drums, and bass plus the singer just sounds great in whatever he does!

  • christian stastny

    you got to know alot of pepole like dubstep now and i love this hole fuckin album dude just listen to it agian its great

  • Jeremy

    This isnt a review. It’s just a rant. I don’t know how you can sit and try to tell a band how they should have their cd sound. Personally I love the fact that it isn’t everything else. It’s a couple young kids pushing the boundaries of several genres. Nothing record breaking, nothing new, but not something I wanna see you trample over with your ‘if you’re post hardcore, you can’t have auto tune or dubstep’ attitudes.

  • Zach Isles

    I agree with this review completely. I have downloaded some songs off the album, Obliviate, TNYCM Pt. 2, Vyvanse Trance, and Faltliners. I think Obliviate is the only standout song on this album. TNYCM Pt. 2 is okay, but the lyrics just don’t make sense. But I like that it’s heavy and still has some of the pop sound their known for. Vyvanse Trance…just doesn’t belong on the album. I love the song actually, but it’s a total pop song that would probably work for the singer if he launched a solo career. And Flatliners is a cool song, lyrically weak, yes, but again, it’s another song that’s heavy but maintains the pop sound. I was expecting something amazing, being a sophomore album, but it was nothing more than a slightly tweaked version of Teenage Scream. Granted, it’s a brand new line-up with the exclusion of the singer, but still, new members should mean a new sound. All in all, it’s not as bad as the first album, but still a disappointment.

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