Signals Midwest – ‘At This Age’

After eight years as a band, Signals Midwest are hitting a pivotal moment in their lives. Confronted by the inevitability of change and the fleeting present, they’ve turned to retrospection to produce one of their most mature and nostalgic releases yet. The prospect of change can be daunting, and the poignantly titled ‘At This Age’ is a cathartic release of angst and anxiety in an attempt to help them prepare for what’s to come.

Struggling with uncertainties about the future and grappling with the responsibilities that come along with growing up has forced them to pause and appreciate the present, whilst simultaneously reflecting on past relationships and regrets, making ‘At This Age’ an incredibly thought-provoking listen.

Nostalgia blooms with opening track ‘You’re Gonna Be Golden’. The painfully transient nature of things couldn’t be clearer as Max Stern reflects “we rode our bikes downtown to the river”. Reminiscent of bands like The Hotelier, Jeff Russell and Stern’s delicately tranquil melodic riffs burst and blossom into the familiar and endearing Signals Midwest riffs of vigour. From the offset they’re pining for memories of the past – it’s enough to make any listener yearn wistfully for former times.

The sharp pang of regret is difficult to ignore in ‘Should Have Been A Painter’. Lyrics like “tell me why we don’t end up where we expect to” overwhelm you with a sense of loss at missed opportunities. The unnerving ‘Autumn Breaks’ declares that “time’s a current and the past is just a hole to fall into”. Fittingly, many tracks on the album dwell and get stuck on on old memories. Retrospection is crucial for growth – but Signals Midwest are trying to remind you that you can’t change the past, you can’t stop time, but you can move on and prepare yourself for what’s to come.

Lyrically poetic tracks such as ‘We Drive Forever Like It’s Nothing’ make use of juxtaposition to reflect a sense of uncertainty and impermanence, and Loren Shumaker’s rumbling bass riffs serve to heighten further this lack of certainty. Stern’s raw reverberating vocals are contemplative – their warmth and softness are enough to leave you dewy-eyed and wondering where time will take you. From ‘West Side Summer’ to ‘Song For Ana’ it’s clear that they’ve indulged in both a softer melodic and a harsher punk sound, to showcase their conflict between anxiousness and confidence at the impending prospect of future change.

Signals Midwest are confidently walking the line between melodic punk rock and emo, so it hardly comes as a surprise that the album was produced with the help of Evan Weiss, from Into It. Over It. It’s delightfully evocative, sounding similar at points to bands like Cheap Girls and The Smith Street Band. The mature release is the result of the one thing that has stayed constant for them in the past eight years, and it’s full of promise.

SUSANNAH BENNETT