We Are The In Crowd – ‘Weird Kids’
Album Review
Track listing
- The Best Thing (That Never Happened)
- Manners
- Come Back Home
- Attention
- Dreaming Out Loud
- Remember (To Forget You)
- Don't You Worry
- Windows In Heaven
- Reflections
We Are
The In Crowd used to be a pop-rock band that was consistently fun and bubbly
with upbeat riffs and catchy lyrics that annoyed you to the point of madness.
But you loved them anyway. With Weird
Kids, they seem to have dimmed their playful spark whist embarking on a
journey of musical progression.
Opener
‘Long Live The Kids’ exemplifies this, with sombre piano notes accompanying Tay
Jardine’s crooning at the beginning until we’re hit with a storming wave of
guitars and drums that are boring and monotonous. It sets the more serious tone
for most of the album and sheds the happy, carefree image that WATIC have held
for so long. Musically, everything is great – Rob Chianelli’s drum beats are
better than ever, Mike Ferri’s bass riffs are prominent and effective in
contributing a grittier undertone and Tay and Jordan's vocals are on point; there’s just a
repetitive nature to songs such as Manners,
Come Back Home, Dreaming Out Loud and Don’t
You Worry. They all share the
same dull tones and seem to lack the punchy, kick-ass moments of elation and
rapture that distinguished WATIC.
However,
Weird Kids seems to be in two halves.
The better half includes songs such as The
Best Thing (That Never Happened), Attention, Remember (To Forget You) and Reflections, all of which are loud, peppy reminders of why WATIC are such a great band. The Best Thing (That Never Happened) was the first video to be
released from the album and rightly so – it’s fun, it’s feisty and, better yet,
it sings about punching Alex Gaskarth in the face. Attention and Remember (To
Forget You) sound like relics of WATIC’s first album, Best Intentions, with dynamic vocals, loud choruses and bouncy
riffs that are both light-hearted and powerful.
Windows In Heaven is the black sheep of the album, consisting of Tay
singing a sorrowful solo of her late father and is a welcome break from the
musical complexities of the rest of the album. Whereas other songs experiment
with different instruments, melodies and pitches, Windows In Heaven is quite minimalist in its approach to accentuate
Tay’s vocals, including only a faint synth line, dulled drum kicks and single
strings until it shatters into a moving and powerful ending that will draw a
tear from the eyes of many. Finale Reflections
sets the bar high for future singles from WATIC, with powerful choruses and
thorny lyrics that give the song a gritty vigour that Weird Kids so desperately needs. Reflections and Windows In
Heaven are each in leagues of their own and create an explosive ending to a
not-so-explosive album.
Overall,
this album is a messy paint palette – it sounds like an experiment to show that
We Are The In Crowd are not a one-trick pony. It has a certain element of
intricateness, but it seems like everything has been over-thought in an attempt
to show their progression in the two years since Best Intentions and it’s very cautious in its approach. Having said
that, Weird Kids does have some
killer tracks and it’s definitely worth a listen. You’re almost there, WATIC.
Almost.
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