Long Stories Short

Like New Jersey, Long Island feels a great sense of ownership over hardcore and emo-core, a badge of honor for the most part safe and secure, as hardly any of the bands from these places ever make it. But lately, with the rousing success of everything emo and punk, it appears that a break in the fence has been found. Pen a few songs with slightly sugary hooks and some slightly graduation-day lyrical sappiness and you've got a hit, maybe a soundtrack and maybe even a record deal. There's nothing wrong with this tack, of course, and there's nothing about it that bands haven't been doing for years. It's even refreshing that in a musical genre as often stagnant and stifled as hardcore, the avenue out of the ghetto doesn't have to be faux-artsy post-punk mining and the accompanying pretensions. Bayside keep it far more "real", in the sense of scene aficionado, than punk turncoats like Jimmy Eat World or Dashboard Confessional. In fact, there's little about this band, save hints of aspirations beyond punk rock, that would suggest a new world of power pop dreams for these kids. However, those hints of saccharine pop hide the key to Bayside's charm. Lead singer and band c-founder Anthony Raneri's voice displays just the type of sweetly sophomoric yearning the band's pleadingly empathetic songs require. Meanwhile, other c-founder Mike Kozak's guitar work blends with Raneri's, forming a pleasant wall of thrash against which the lyrical melodrama can unfold. With a pedigree that includes shows with some of the top emerging names in hardcore, Bayside stand to move beyond regional success. Horror of scenester horrors, they might actually make it.

Track listing

"Advance Letter Goodbye "
"Foot Impressions"
"Days of My Life"
"Red Head vs. the Pretty Red Bracelet"
"Downtime"
"Ask For It"

Writing Credits

All songs written by Bayside

Personnel

Anthony Raneri - Vocals, guitar
Andrew Elderbaum - Bass
Jack O'Shea - Guitar, additional vocals
Jim Mitchell - Drums
J. Robbins - Production, mixing