Judge William says:

While you’re certainly entitled to say what you will about how the music does (or does not) hit you, I don’t think that you’re giving the lyricism of the album much credit – or grace, for that matter. Lines like “God save us all, I can’t get by just on help – I need to be saved from myself,” “I cannot forget I convince myself of anything if I try hard enough,” “It’s not that you loved me too, but loved me first,” and “I’ve got a nightly amnesia, I forget where I come from” don’t seem “simply simplistic and immature.” I went to the band’s website (www.constantrecourse.com), and there’s a one line description of the band which (even though it comes from them) rings more true than your entire review: “dynamic and memorable rock music for people who care about lyrics.” I know it’s a bit hokey, but it makes sense. Whether that person be an annoying teeny bopper middle school girl or a Harvard professor, that one-line description seems to line up well.

I’ve listened to some of The Almost, and I don’t think that this band is anything like them, not that there’s a value judgment in that at all. I feel like this band is the kind of band that may not grab the Thrice fan or mewithoutyou junkie, but encourage the old man that needs some truth spoken into his life with uplifting and challenging lyrics that are meant to…well…uplift and challenge.

Finally, what do you mean by “art and not just a song”? If the song Less Bitter (not to mention Nightly Amnesia) isn’t artistic, I don’t know what is. And of course you’ve “heard better.” I could say that about any band/song, depending upon what I’m looking at (musicality, dynamic, hook, lyrics, etc.). In any case, I’m glad that you reviewed this group, because it made me give them a look-see, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.