Brazil – A Hostage and The Meaning Of Life

I’ve seen reviews of this album all over the place. Everywhere I’ve seen it, I’ve seen 10/10s, 5/5s, “Best record of the year”, “No doubt in my mind who will take the number one spot in my top ten list this year”, and so on. But I listen to it, and I think: “meh”.

Brazil’s debut full length, A Hostage and The Meaning Of Life, is nothing special. In fact, it is somewhat inferior to a lot of albums coming out lately. A Hostage… is just your basic emo band. Slow, dual guitar riffs, and whiny vocals. They add a bit with the piano, but not much. Each song sounds the same as the last and each one is dragged on, and on, and on, and on some more. I would be halfway though the second track and thinking it’s the fifth one. Each track is pulled out so long while never adding anything new, so they just repeat the same thing countless times. You soon get bored with it and start searching for something else.

Obviously, some people must like this album, as I have read so many good reviews. But in my mind, they don’t do anything special; they just drag what they have on and on and on. There’s no way this will be in my top ten at the end of the year.