It’s been an uneventful musical month for me. Even though I’ve picked up a few albums by 'alternative' internet based means, nothing has really jumped out at me. So after feeling a little guilty for not feeding my musical needs for sustenance, I thought I’d peruse the internet and see what surfaced.

Because of my inextricable loyalty to Microsoft products, I find myself constantly looking for the next little games or app for my Windows Phone on Zune.net. And tonight was no different as I figured there was some useless free game I needed to download to entertain myself on mass transit to and from work. In that search, I sifted through the music to see what was compelling. On Zune.net, I found more commercially viable contributions to the music industry than I’m typically drawn to.

And tonight I’m surprised by a find in my drudging.

Bayside, an emo sort-of pop-punk, almost melodic hardcore band, released their fifth studio album. What does that have to with anything? Nothing much other than I’ve seen these guys perform before somewhere sometime when I lived in Southern California. And let me just say they were the opening band and they sucked balls. So why should this album even ripple the surface of the sea that is the music industry? Well it won’t but it’s worth a listen.


The new record, “Killing Time” is actually enjoyable to listen to. I’m sure I saw these dudes in the 2003 timeframe which would have made them relatively newly signed. This record comes after a label switch and some adversity. And apparently, this is the release that most critics were expecting from the beginning that just never came until almost 10 years later.

Since I really don’t know anything about them, I chose to do a little background check. Nothing relevant to write here that adds any value to this column. But I’ll say they’ve had their issues and that’s reflected in this album. It’s the typical ‘trying to find my place in the world while no one understands me’ release. And that’s OK at times. We all have that internal dialogue which pipes up at the most unpredictable times almost like it was a karmic sanity check the universe was providing.

“Killing Time” is actually a fairly tightly produced album which is musically stunning and very energetic. Is it original? Nope. But the guitar work is pretty cool. There are a ton of guitar slides and some sweet snare drum work. There’s definitely a maturity to the record even though a majority of the songs remain true to a calculated misery that comes with the emo genre.

Each song is not all that bad and has promise but there are a few that truly stand out.

“Already Gone” – Bayside couldn’t open with a better track; driving guitars and urgent lyrics. Sounds like the lead singer is tired of a dysfunctional relationship. It’s a dear john letter ending a toxic relationship. And oh yes, he’s angry, “I know it's cold but I will keep us warm with all the hate I radiate. We'll be walking hand in hand in hell.” Love it.

“Seeing Sound” – This is the best song on the record in my opinion. It has the bouncy aggressiveness and guitar of a Green Day song. Clearly an influence here. It’s a facetious song about the irony of life as the metaphor of a circus. The lyrics, “We'll go along thinking everything is wrong. Watch our lives from afar. But looking back is not so bad,” summarize it best.

“Killing Time” – Like the opener, Bayside couldn’t close with a better song. It’s heavy and unrelenting and the guitar is thick. I love the concept of the title track. Killing time is a metaphor for being sedentary in life. It’s kind of a carpe diem type anthem. The lyric, “I'm half way to happy now & I always mistake it for progress” typifies how we all feel when we downtrodden with emotion and setbacks.

If you took New Found Glory and Alkaline Trio and put them in a blender and added some Billie Joe Armstrong, put it on puree and blend away, you’d have Bayside. I do like the album but I should inform the reader here that I’ve only listened to it three times at the time of writing this. So maybe it would piss me off more and I’d get bored by its repetition with a few more listens. Overall, I think it’s a strong record with some catchy tunes. There is some great guitar work which is a blast to listen to. Additionally, the music is driving and the lyrics are delivered earnestly with an electronic violin type sounding voice.

Does Bayside have longevity? Well, it has taken a multitude of records to get to a mature sounding release. You’d like to think that their best music is in front of them. “Killing Time” is a decent product worth procurement by any means you feel are appropriate.