Terrible things are like an early 2000’s super group of sorts. As much as I hate relying on ex member notations for new records this one seems apt. This is a band made up or former members of Hot Rod Circuit and Taking Back Sunday. Please keep in mind that this is not the second coming of either of these bands.
This pedigree feels pretty apparent by the time the first real song (post intro) kicks in. The vocals feel familiar and work together well like TBS including call and response and complete trade offs. The musicianship is quite good being more reminiscent of recent brand new rather than their former bands.
Where this album succeeds is in coalescing the strong suits of each member writing ability and vocals. With Fred he had The color Fred which unfortunately acted as a sounding board with a nearly non existent filter on his songwriting, while by the end of HRC the band had changed into something else a good ways away from what they started as.
Terrible Things joins both of these ideas together to create something whole and strong overall. This is truly something that is stronger than just the sum of their parts. We have great harmonies between the two vocalists and strong hooks in the riffs to keep the listener coming back for more.
The band still has ways to go towards making a classic record but this is probably as close to a return of HRC as anyone will get. The songwriting has come a long way from just your run in the mill mall screamo their original bands.
What we get something something more mature without being a sad retread or false idea of what mature should be. We get songwriting that is strong with an emphasis on hooks and strong lyrics. The album feels like a whole piece rather than a compilation of “single worthy” songs. The production has a good amount of clarity and no grit whatsoever. This helps to highlight the vocals and melodies in a very strong way.
Overall this marks a return of musicians who have had their glory days pass in all probability. In complete disregard of that they have managed to write a strong complete album as opposed to relying on past glories. This is a strong record that I for one am hard pressed to find a reason not to recommend. Noted, this album isn’t breaking barriers it is a very strong melodic rock album.
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