Say Hello To The Angels – Break Your Sword

The Gaslight Anthem succeeds from a rare combination of stylistic finesse and being absolutely superb songsmiths.  They take more chances than most give them credit, but no one complain since they have yet to fail.  Quite frequently the band tones down their guitars and just lets Brian Fallon have some one on one time with the audience.  They’re always personal, moving, and synthesize a brilliant combination of raw and eloquent themes.

Disrupt anything in that balance though, and suddenly you’re left with some guy on a guitar talking awkwardly into the mic.  Austin, Texas’s Say Hello To The Angels exemplifies those shortcomings.  Having funded the project via fan-funded kickstarter, there’s no question that the band has a passion for their music, but their debut full length, Break Your Sword, aspires higher than it reaches.

“Am I helpless or just hopeless” sings front man Dustin in a gritty vocal style serving as homage to Brian Fallon or Tom Gabel/Laura Jane Grace (Against Me!).  His vocals are strong but the application falters.  “It’s all a part, it’s all a part of it” he sings over and over again vaguely during the chorus – missing the essential details during the verse to build a connection with the audience.  But the music sits competently enough, so it’s a lukewarm opener at best.  But a track later “Don’t Let Me” strips away the full band backdrop in favour of a more “personal” acoustic approach.  Here’s where the clear lyrical shortcomings reveal blatant foundational cracks.  “Heard today from a mutual friend that you finally broke up with him; so prepare the moat, castle gate, storming in to take his place… I’d run through fire to get to you.”  I can see what Dustin is aiming for with metaphors and imagery, but they’re such tired examples and that whole “mutual friend” thing just screams of trying to squeeze blood from a stone.  It might sound decent on paper, but when push comes to shove it sounds disjointed and forced in execution.

Say Hello To The Angels sing with passion, but succeed the most when every band member is pulling their equal weight.  “If It’s Not One Thing” marks the band on the top of their game – the lyrics get the job done, the Springsteen-esque guitars chime inspirationally, and the chorus-verse interplay is sure to hook even the most resistant audience.  With more organic tracks like this, and less trying-too-hard-to-capture-someone-else’s-lightening-in-a-bottle songs like “Born To Run” and there’s a future here.

Overall, Break Your Sword has its heart in the right place but suffers from imitating idols more than trying to take their place alongside them.  There’s a paradoxical lack of personality here, oddly counterbalanced by a clear and obvious passion.  The album is quite listenable, but always feels shy of its full potential.