showing me/it doesn’t mean a thing at all/it doesn’t change the way I feel/it’s all white noise, expensive toys…” Hell yeah, Strung Out, right on! What you have doesn’t matter, it’s about who you are.

 

If anybody’s looking for a song for the first dance at their wedding, feel free to choose “Go It Alone.”  For real, a Strung Out love song (don’t worry, it doesn’t sound like This Wild Life). Lyrics like “Another day of breathing waking next to you, the world can end and I’d be fine, right here where I am,” feels like something you don’t hear from Strung Out, and I couldn’t love it more.

 

“No Apologies” should hit you right in the feels, if you’re a person that strives to grow each and every day to be a better human being. It sounds like a song from a father to his son telling him to always be himself and do his best, no matter what. If “now every day’s a little more than just surviving, there’s the person that you grow to be is stronger than the best of me” doesn’t get to you, nothing will. Bravo, Strung Out, really teaching the masses some valuable life lessons with this one.

Of course, we mustn’t forget the facemelter that is “Westcoasttrendkill,” which is basically one long guitar solo.  It’s ridiculous, really, all the way through, but what’s more impressive to me, is how Strung Out’s guitar work is so damn refined that it doesn’t even slightly drown out the drums and the vocals. This track is the album’s closer -- for good reason -- to remind you that Strung Out’s still here, six years later. They haven’t lost a step, and they’re not going anywhere.

 

Strung Out is known for their ability to progress musically by leaps and bounds each time they release a new album, and this album follows suit, with a new twist. Not only is their sound “Strung-outy” with influences from the modern scene, but there seems to be a bend towards their older sound with this release, which is something new and refreshing for Strung Out and fans everywhere are going to dig it.  Make sure you go see them on tour, their live show is really a treat, which extends into mid-July (with more dates to be announced).  These guys just stay on the grind. Good thing, too.