You Blew It! – Keep Doing What You’re Doing

Emo revival act You Blew It! has been racking up a healthy resume of praise for its sophomore full length, Keep Doing What You’re Doing.  Recognized for its raw emotion, relatable self-defeating lyrics and accompanying jangly 90’s rock-type indie containing flashes of modern count your lucky stars artists, critics will have you believe that this is the emo album of the year – and perhaps it is.  But if you’re anything like me, that doesn’t mean you’ll take to Keep Doing What Your Doing instantly, or even at all. 

Enjoyment of You Blew It! ultimately comes down to how willing you are to listen to front man Tanner Jones groan about life’s misgivings and a personal lack of self confidence.  His voice is in a perpetual state of anguish in an asymmetrical, off-key type of way – a few notches lower and less intense than The Saddest Landscape; similar to many early 90’s emo acts that I was too young for the first time around.  Vocally consistent from start to finish, there isn’t much relief or variation between tracks.  Hearing opener “Match & Tinder” is entirely indicative of that which follows.  About every three tracks Jones smoothes his grain when the accompanying music takes a dip.  But rather than offer a remedy, songs like “Strong Island” and “A Different Kind Of Difference” limp along in their counterparts’ shadow. 

Even if you can get past the increasingly grating vocals, you’ll find little awaiting in the unremarkable lyrics.  The entire outing comes across incredibly broad and vague.  So much that it impedes the development of any empathy for the protagonist’s ten tracks of targeted complaints.  We know someone damaged his psyche and left him a bumbling shell of a man.  Born very much in the moment, listeners are given little context outside of the emotional outbursts.  The album lacks a broader purpose, with closing track “Better To Best” trivializing prior songs further in the lines “okay I admit it, this past year I’ve been kind of an idiot… maybe this time it wouldn’t hurt to try to be happy… maybe things aren’t quite as bad as I let myself to believe.”  If they weren’t that bad, then why did I just spend thirty minutes hearing about how hopeless life is?

In a world where Captain, We’re Sinking released one of the most meaningful, fresh takes on emo less than a year ago, You Blew It! falls flat.  The album drags on to the point of frustration with such a limited scope bogging down already uninteresting content.  While the critics might be in agreement, Keep Doing What You’re Doing is not an album for everyone; not by a long shot.