Still Searching,
Senses Fail
Senses Fail, when they first hit our airwaves, were part of a movement. Their original release of the EP came at a time when Taking Back Sunday and Thursday were at the top of their game and Senses Fail arrived slap bang at the time when labels were looking for bands of a similar ilk. Drive Thru snapped the band up, re-packaged that EP and it shifted major numbers. And while that record was immature and contained some appalling lyrics, it does contain some of their best songs to date. Geffen snaffled the band, sold them on to Vagrant and, another album on, here we are with 'Still Searching' - that "tricky" third album and the one that bands usually class as make or break.
It doesn't really veer away too much from the sound that made Buddy Nielsen and co poster boys for an emo generation, yet there's less screaming and certainly a more mature edge that I guess you;d expect from a band who have now been together for quite some time. 'Sick or Sane' and 'Bonecrusher' are hard-hitting starters, while 'Can't be Saved' and 'Calling For Cars' are decent too, the latter certainly reminiscent of the band's older efforts - minus the screaming. Senses Fail certainly haven't tried to reinvent the wheel with this record and 'Shark Attack' could easily have come from those very first EP sessions.
In short, if you've been a fan of the band from the beginning then you can bet your bottom dollar you'll enjoy this record. There's nothing particularly wrong with it and the band have got rid of the pointless screaming, using it to better effect. But I feel there are better bands - and the band have written better songs - leaving this as one of those records I'll listen to occasionally, but not that consistently. 'Still Searching' is good, but not great.
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