Album Review: Get Scared - 'Built for Blame, Laced with Shame'

It's worth saying that it would appear this kind of music has gone out of fashion lately. We grew up with it, and still enjoy it. But, uh ... late 2000's "emo"? Good riddance to that. I must remark though, putting on this record and it was an instant flashback to bumming around listening to Chiodos when I was fourteen or so. Certainly good for nostalgia value.

Before beginning the review in earnest, one seeming has no idea where Get Scared are going to go from here. Stylistically, they jumped on a bandwagon that was guarunteed to crash and burn out of mainstream exposure in the early years of this decade. But then again, one could have said the same thing about Nu Metal some years ago ... but that's still dragging on...so maybe there's hope for these guys yet.

It's a six track EP, and the opening title track is probably its strongest part. It's already been mentioned the Chiodos comparison to this band, but the musicality and clever use of dynamics here is very reminiscent of All's Well That Ends Well. That's a good album, so ... high praise. However, it loses steam and continues the same pattern ad nauseum. 

The final track on the album, 'Don't You Dare Forget The Sun' in particular bothers. There's only so much the audience can eat up of the same thing, and this song is so ludicrously formulaic that it literally blends into every song by bands of the same ilk ... ever.

At first you enter with a sense of optimistim and nostalgia. However, by a few songs in, what is presented makes the album hard to listen to anymore. The sound is like a composite image of all the bands from the last decade of a similar type, but without any of the relevance or impact they had during said last decade. Enjoyment as a listener goes downhill pretty fast, and it's not like it has a hell of a lot of artistic merit to go off. So, if you're a die-hard fan of this kind of music, by all means have a listen. But, a more rounded listener will probably find this simply mediocre.

1. Built for Blame
2. Problematic
3. Cynical Skin
4. Keep Myself Alive
5. Start to Fall
6. Don't You Dare Forget the Sun