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It’s been just over a year since California natives Means released their debut “Sending You Strength” on Facedown Records, so it might be surprising that they wasted no time on returning to the studio to record their sophomore effort after just a few months of touring with different label mates. With “To Keep Me From Singing,” the band are as brutal and passionate as ever, with the vocalist tweaking his vocal chords to a higher pitched sound than on the band’s previous album. The song messages remain the same,; strength, spiritual encouragement, hope, and posing such questions as “where do we go from here,” “could there be any other way,” and “does an answer arrive?”
“To Keep Me from Sinking” begins with a speed driven song called ‘Awareness,’ clocking in at only one minute and forty-eight seconds, implying that the song might be just an intro even though nearly a dozen lines of lyrics (first sung and then screamed) accompany the musical backdrop. When it comes to the genre of screamo, it’s really a matter of personal taste as the listener may scratch his head and wonder why the vocalist in a band like Means is straining himself to belt out messages that are of a positive and spiritual nature. Some call it passion, others call it a cry for desperate help, either way, it’s part of what screamo has come to be. However, frontman Dylan Johnstone must be doing something right as his voice fails to crack once throughout the album’s ten tracks.
There is no slowing down the band’s momentum once they’ve gained speed as each track is laced with rugged breakdowns, gut busting vocals, and enough drum rhythms to keep the mosh pit rocking for days. When it comes to songwriting in a lyrical sense, disappointments are non-existent here. Means’ debut single “Breaking in” is a revamping of Revelation 3:20 and describes a young man pleading for another way out of a cruel and dark world though while looking forward to a bright light leading him to a better place. Other songs like “Blackout,” “We Dwell in Possibility,” and “What We Seek” bring forth messages of letting go of the past, rebuilding broken dreams, and being known by the life one leads. The only downfall of “To Keep Me From Sinking” are the quotes posted at end of each song’s liner notes. While it’s a nice touch to add statements made popular by famous philosophers and theologians Anthony De Millo, William Blake, Ralph Waldo Emerson), with virtually no blatant mention of God in the songs, deciphering particular Scripture references for each song may be more of a challenge than what it seems.
Fortunately, Means show that they are anything but a carbon copy of current screamo acts like Underoath and Kingston Falls, protruding forth plenty of brash melodies and rough harmonies to prove that they are capable of holding their own. While spiritual content may not be as evident this time around, “To Keep Me From Sinking” remains a fresh alternative to many secular bands of the genre of screamo who typically use their talents to express their ongoing depression and loss of hope in life. Means is one act that is anything short of raw energy and pure truth in their overall standing as a band in the Christian circuit.
| Production | 8 | | Lyrics | 7 | | Message | 8 | | Overall Quality
8 |
Release Date: May 27, 2008
Label: Facedown Records
Track Listing
1. Awareness
2. Breaking In
3. Somewhere Up Ahead
4. Blackout
5. Steadily
6. We Dwell in Possibility
7. Burned Into Me
8. Refuge
9. What We Seek
10. Of Dread and Dreams
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