Set Your Goals – Mutiny!

Set Your Goals is the perfect examples of how preconceptions can lead you astray. When I first saw this album laying in front of me, I shuddered a little inside a little bit. The name, the artwork, the label, it all screamed “generic hardcore band” at me, particularly the skulls on the front cover. I put it aside, planning to pass it along to José who normally covers that genre of music because it is not my forte. The next day it clicked on me, Set Your Goals! “Mike had told me I’d like them” I remembered, and considering the amount of my reviews Mike had read over the past few years, I figured he would know my general taste in music. So I instantly got perked up, and threw in Mutiny! the instant I got home from work, and suffice to say, Mike proved once again that he knew what he was talking about.

For you see, despite my initial preconceptions, Mutiny! is a solid album, far from being generic. It is eleven songs of positive hardcore, somehow molded nicely with pop-punk melodies – and it somehow works perfectly. The fact that they can go from sounding like Blink182 ( Echoes) and Relient K ( To Be Continued…) to sounding like StretchArmStrong ( We Do It For the Money, Obviously) or Good Clean Fun (Flight Of The Navigator) in an instant is probably the most alluring feature of the album. This instant, almost inconceivable transformation keeps the album changing, forcing the listener to pay attention and not to lose focus. Of course, it isn’t tamed or laid back, even in it’s poppier moments, Set Your Goals have managed to keep some intensity and hardcore elements in the song. From the gang vocals, to the constant drumming and guitar breakdowns, Mutiny! will please even the most cynical hardcore fan.

Of course, the transition from heavy to light isn’t the only highlight of the album, there’s countless others that you can pick out within the first listen. The slick production and flawless transition is one of them. Listen to the first four tracks and you’ll wonder how you’re at track four. There isn’t a single pause between the songs as one fades out and leaps right into the following track. Somehow, the lyrics even match up in these transitions too, it’s clearly evident the band put a lot of time and thought into the production of Mutiny!.

Another highlight that jumps out at you is the insightful and blunt lyrics. They are the classic positive hardcore lyrics, none of that “wah my girl left me” moaning stuff. They tackle religion, selling out, touring, misinterpretation of lyrics, and my personal favorite, the interpretation of life. (I often wonder if I’ll ever finish all I’ve started, and the answer I have found is NO. / No, I will never finish all that I have started because life is about doing, the process/ And not the result. Life is about doing whether you want to or not. – Work In Progress).

I’m glad that my first thought of this album turned out to be wrong, and I’m even happier that I remembered my friend’s recommendation because with out that, I would’ve never taken the time to listen to Set Your Goals – and that, would’ve been a shame. I guess I learnt I can’t jump to conclusions anymore.