Classic Case – Losing At Life

There’s something about Classic Case that bothers me deep within the core of my very being. I can’t explain it, but for some inexplicable reason, I just really want to like this band. Could it be that I am but a moth, attracted to the pretty illuminating light that is this albums’ cover art, or is it because any ex-Glassjaw member, even a drummer, is better then no ex-Glassjaw member? (Can’t argue with that logic) So I push myself again and again to listen to it, but I am left with the same conclusion. I’m way too old for this kind of music.

It starts off strongly enough for the first ten seconds, as the intro to the opening track “Into a Nightmare” begins with an upbeat, almost promising drum beat, before lead vocalist Jared Draughon demolishes any hope of this not sucking with boring, monotone singing. As the song progresses, it becomes catchier, but is bogged down by terribly cliché lyrics. One thing about this song is it gives you a fairly accurate blueprint of what to expect for most of the album.

When it’s not following this formulaic nu-emo sound, they divert to radio rock, bad radio rock. However, musically this album is not without promise which is what’s keeping me from not scoring it any lower. These guys can write a catchy, almost post-hardcore melody, with plenty of standout tracks like “All of Us Are in Danger”, “Unsteady”, “Devil’s Advocate” and “Scott’s Free”. But it’s bogged down by cheap acoustic songs like the title track and “Fatal Phrase”. The sad thing is, these are the kinds of songs that fourteen year old girls wouldn’t even covet, leaving these guys in a bad place.

However, whatever glistening of hope they show you musically seems like the illusion when you sit down and listen to the words. Listeners are rewarded with poetic lines such as: “Here I am, losing at life / maybe I set my goals too high. /Gotta pull it together / pull myself together / I ain’t ever owned a thing.” And “I can feel you breathing down my neck / and it’s only getting worse. / Every kiss I hide turns into a curse.”

How touching.

Let’s just say it’s hard not to trash this album immediately, there are a few gems in here but you have to have a lot of patience, which leads to the question of whether it’s even worth it. However, Classic Casedoes have the ability to be very infectious at times; if they play to their strengths and work on their content they might have a chance at being looked at more then once.