In some circles, Say Anything’s Sam Beamis is as synonymous with emo as Dashboard Confessional or My Chemical Romance. Their last two albums, 2004’s …Is A Real Boy and 2007’s In Defense of the Genre, are both as full of searing, expository and self-centred anthems as the genre demands, but what sets Beamis apart from his contemporaries is his ability to temper his sad-sack stories with a little humour and whole lot of bile.
On the new self-titled disc from his band, Beamis doesn’t shy away from his usual crispy wit. This time, he packages it in big, gleaming pop hooks. “Less Cute” and “Hate Everyone” still showcase tongue-twisting world-on-fire rants, this time with grooves that most indie-pop bands would kill for. Even if the latter bites heavily from “I Fought the Law.”
Beamis, though, is famous for self-sabotage and he doesn’t disappoint here. He often cheats himself of his best moments, especially on album closer “Ahhh… men, ” a hushed lament that can’t resist the urge to lapse into another high-energy screamer.
The songs are a little tighter and the hooks a little sharper, but it seems as though Say Anything simply is what it is at this point — not that that’s a bad thing.
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