I think ‘Walking Wounded’ will be the album that shakes the ‘baby Alakline Trio’ shackles from Bayside and instead introduces them to the world as a great band in their own right. A record that’s got everything – riffs, choruses, awesome vocals – it’s Bayside‘s best record yet, upping the quality of everything by at least a notch. If you liked either of their last two albums, this one will blow you away.
The album’s title track which opens this record sets the standard; riffs that shred, Anthony Raneri’s searing vocals and some bittersweet lyrics the boys have become loved for. First single ‘Duality’ has a vocal melody that soars and will have you singing along well into the summer, there are so many layered harmonies here it’s unreal. ‘Carry On‘ is arguably my favourite song, a little pacy and punchy, it’s a catchy number that features one of the best choruses on the record.
And so the great songs continue – ‘Landing Feet First’ features duelling guitar solos, ‘Choice Hops And Bottled Self Esteem’ is bleak lyrically, yet vocally very melodic, while ‘A Rite Of Passage’ shows the band can consistently write 12 great songs. The stomping ‘They’re NOT Horses, They’re Unicorns!’ is one of the only songs where the band do sound like Alkaline Trio, although the song is still great so it’s a forgiveable offence.
If ‘Sirens…’ stood out as a good record, ‘Walking Wounded’ is Bayside‘s first great one. With stellar production and more mature songwriting, this is the record that will take them up the leagues. While penned in very trying circumstances following the sad death of their drummer, Bayside can be proud to know they’ve come up with their best work to date.