REVIEW: Say Anything – ‘Hebrews’

Artist: Say Anything
Album: Hebrews
Label: Equal Vision Records

A few years ago, my father told me a story about a concert that he had attended before I was born. Neil Young was playing unplugged at a relatively small venue, choosing the majority of his setlist from the latter half of his enormous discography. Irritated by the fact that very few old, “classic” Neil Young tracks were in rotation, an angry concert-goer screamed out and commanded the legendary singer-songwriter to “play something we’ve heard before.” Young allegedly looked up, smiled, and said “okay” before playing the first song on the setlist for a second time. “There’s one you’ve heard before,” said Young, as he continued with the show.

Many people in that room would call Neil Young an asshole.

As artists begin to get older, new directions emerge from new influences, and the often fan favorite debut records begin to lose their charm upon self-reflection. Neil Young likely avoids old songs for this very reason; an artist’s sole responsibilities are to deliver relevant, expressive content at the highest possible quality and improve over time.

No one in the punk rock / Warped-Tour scene community has shown more of an interest in preserving the artistic integrity of his work than Say Anything mastermind Max Bemis. The sharp-tongued songwriter released the band’s first proper record, …Is A Real Boy, in 2004 to near universal acclaim; that record unquestionably put the band on the map and earned them a spot on a major label for the two subsequent records. However, despite Bemis’ drastic improvements in maturity, the band has always seemed to struggle with the identity that …Is A Real Boy bestowed upon them a full decade ago.

With Hebrews, Bemis finally confronts his legacy head-on. The record serves as the most drastic departure from the band’s sound to date, as well as a re-imagining of the attitude and spark that made …Is A Real Boy so impressive. While Hebrews is polarizing to the point of uncomfortable at times, Bemis has shown that he’s still got it with an in-depth look at his daily, personal struggles and some of the most impressive songs the band has ever released.

Featuring absolutely no guitar tracks, Hebrews sounds drastically different from anything that the band has released in the past. In terms of the electronic-sounding production, the record most closely resembles the 2009 self-titled album; however, this is still a completely different beast. Strings dominate the soundscape, and when combined with the atmosphere of the songwriting, a jarring yet appealing style emerges. The songwriting ranges from soaring and anthemic to catchy and fast, with “My Greatest Fear Is Splendid” marking the return of Say Anything’s classic, goofy pomp style. Opener “John McClane” sounds like the beginning of a musical about the last year of Bemis’ life, declaring “tonight, I need to be redeemed / I’m in the nude, inhaling ice cream / talking to my dogs” over a bouncy piano melody.

Lyrically, most of the record serves as a surprising retaliation to anyone who deemed Bemis too tame after the mostly toned down Anarchy, My Dear. “Judas Decapitation” and “Lost My Touch” deal specifically with the idea that Max has forgotten how to write edgy Say Anything songs, while moments like the bridge in “Kall Me Kubrick,” featuring Max screaming the word “swastika” again and again, mark some of the hardest hitting moments in the band’s career. Elsewhere, on tracks like the “Boyd” and “My Greatest Fear Is Splendid,” Bemis talks about fatherhood for the first time, and the fears that come with it.

Similarly to the band’s second record, In Defense of The Genre, each track features a guest vocal spot. Some of the guests do an incredible job and add flavor where it’s needed, but most of the guests are underutilized. Touché Amoré’s Jeremy Bolm, mewithoutYou’s Aaron Weiss, and Every Time I Die’s Keith Buckley are predominantly featured in their respective tracks and contribute some of the most memorable verses on the record, while Tom Delonge, Chris Conley, Matt Pryor, and Balance And Composure’s Jon Simmons are nearly impossible to hear on a first listen. A proper Tom Delonge guest vocal would have been a huge moment for the band’s history, so it’s strange that he’s so buried in the mix.

Hebrews is authentic Say Anything; Max has proven that he doesn’t need to be a drug-addled teen to make an angry, genuine record in the vein of …Is A Real Boy. The record is incredibly polarizing in song structure and production style, and a great deal of fans will be sure to write it off, but just like Neil Young, Bemis will rightfully be proud of the new music he’s created. Hebrews is the rare record with a little bit for everyone, and as long as fans are willing to give it a shot, it’s sure to please.

SCORE: 8.75/10
Review written by John Bazley

John Bazley
Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.