Alexisonfire – Watch Out!

When a band releases their second album there’s a lot of pressure put on them from the fans and from the controlling hands above to keep the same sound that they all fell in love with. Personally I don’t think this is fair, or what we want at all. If a band put out the same album every few years we’d get bored and stop listening. So what Alexisonfire has done with their second release Watch Out may not be what everyone expected, but that’s not a bad thing. Leave all expectations at the door, Watch Out is right.

First off you must be warned, if you’re a huge fan of the band and love George screaming in your face all the time, you may be let down as Dallas shows up in full effect on the album. Also if you weren’t really into the band because of all the screams, you may be interested to hear that Dallas shows up in full effect on the album. There are songs like Sharks and Danger and Happiness By The Kilowatt where Dallas runs the show for minutes into the song, and personally I love it. He has an amazing voice, and the last album didn’t really show it enough. But don’t worry, George is still there making himself heard, but instead of running the show he shares the mics more this time around.

Lyrically the band digs deeper into social problems and ideals like addictions and fashion trends. In Get Fighted George reminds us that “this shit is not about pants, and this shit is not about shirts, and this shit is definitely not about hair“. To all the people who still believe music is dead, they comfort us in the notion that “maybe we just forgot what it sounded like.” And with Dallas, and even Wade, jumping on the mic more often there’ll be a lot more singing along to these words of wisdom at future shows. And if you haven’t seen them live, make sure you put it on your to-do list as they put on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to hear these songs live.

One thing I must add, in a world of internet downloading some people need a push to actually go out and buy the album. I won’t get into that whole debate now (if you like it, buy it), but these days packaging and cd inserts are important. The packaging on this album is great, a foldout with great design. But I was disappointed to see that there is no booklet with this cd. The lyrics and info are all there on the foldout, but no booklet. Not very important, the music speaks for itself, but I like to have that little insert.

If I could tell you just one thing before you listen to this album, it is not to expect a single thing. The band has changed, but they are still Alexisonfire. You can still pick out the sound, you can still hear that it is them, but they’ve changed things around whether you find it an improvement or not. Don’t expect the same album, don’t expect to hear George all the time, don’t expect the same riffs and the same sounds. They’ll riff you to death in a whole new way, so you better watch out. Go pick up this album…now.