Credit: artwork: Andy Warren
There is no such thing as universal burnout. One may try to sleep or take a vacation, whine it out with a friend or just stare blankly at a wall, wondering how you ever ended up here. TheMindWillNotLetGo, on the other hand, has chosen the more pragmatic method: plug in a guitar, turn it to eleven and compose an entire album inspired by being burnt out.
Burnout is an album comprising nine tracks concerning disastrous relationships, tantrums and self-destructive behaviors, all combined with a hearty dash of anxiety. It masterfully melds alternative rock and a little bit of dark punk-pop into an experience that has catchy melodies interspersed between moments of pure sonic aggression, but nothing in it fakes perfection.
The tone is set immediately on “lucky”, introduced by a deceptively cheerful opening then followed by an explosion of distorted guitars to reveal one of the strongest features of burnout: despite concerning a narrator who is completely depleted of energy, it rocks out to the very end with the vivacity of a stable desktop with seventeen error messages working tirelessly in the background. “wildfirehurricane” picks up speed with a similar aggressively inspired style of music, although it details the chaos of relationships more as an inherent part of it than something experienced from an outsider’s perspective; essentially, one is caught inside the burning moment rather than watching it from a safe distance.
Two styles of anger are exhibited with “paynomind” and “spit”. The latter being a furious alternative rock track which employs extremely fast lyrics and a sharp, piercing solo from what appears to be its punk-ish companion. Though two different paces appear throughout the album they don’t result in a droning sound throughout the record; one has simply given way to the extreme, thus broadening the range.
This diversity also appears on my album stand-out track, “beautifulpain.” This track comes to our aid with quieter, acoustic vibes and a gentle melody that is accompanied with such a steady bass line to make our hearts feel relief from such an intense, emotional ride and has the tendency to compliment the more extreme-leaning tracks even more. If all of the songs hit such a hammering volume as all the other songs present the audience may feel tired out.
This album is a bit like that classic train station where every departure must be accompanied with the grand slam ending, otherwise the listener might be missing something from the departure from the station. “crashandburn” sets forth this mission as the last track with it a three or so minute track in which you are propelled forward by over 170 bpm until its inevitable collapse; in some parts you may be seeing yourself either making peace with a lover or completely destroying yourself, but you are seeing two conflicting personalities doing so that gives this song a lot of emotional intensity and highest highs; a truly heart-pounding rock track.
Both “she” and “usedtobe” delve into how memory should have nothing to do with destroying your present. “she” talks about growing so far apart that you no longer seem like the same person, while “usedtobe” reminisces upon a previous, perhaps less skilled, version of yourself that makes even your new self no better than the original. Both give you those deep, melancholic yet honest moments without making them feel too clean-cut or presented with packaged, moralizing lessons. Thealbum concludes with an incomplete: “amistilldreaming”
Burnout isn’t trying to show you any of the answers, all of the loops it brings up: the self-doubt, the panic attack brought upon from certain situations, the breakdown of relationships-it will put all of these to a climax and leave you alone to figure out what happens afterward.
It’s what is necessary and inevitable for an increasingly panicked state.
However, with all of these melancholy, disturbing matters, what makes burnout so incredible is that every second of the album is uninhibited joy to listen to-regardless of what is happening to the protagonist, each song absolutely revels in the music; although it explores how to conquer hardship, it demonstrates a definite love for pure rock music, amplified in sonic extremes. What I have noticed, oddly, is how it indirectly gives us reason to feel optimistic even with these emotional issues at hand: You cannot fix every little problem in your mind, you really cannot, but you absolutely can translate them to three spectacular minutes of rock and roll.
Burnout is everything you could need. It’s melodic, but far from sterile. Heavy, but with enough hook to keep you going. Morally and emotionally complicated, but always honest about it having any definitive answers for the narrator. Most of all, it genuinely sounds like the product of somebody who deeply loves rock music. If that isn’t reason enough to turn up the volume then I don’t know what is.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
