Put simply, this is the worst album I’ve heard all year and one of the worst I’ve ever had the misfortune to come across. It has absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever and I cannot understand why anyone at Epitaph even gave this a second listen, let alone agreed to put it out. I can’t even see the commercial, marketable value in this record to be honest – while I understand the screamo fashion trend, surely even the kids aren’t so stupid as to like this mess are they?
For those unaware of the ‘hype’ surrounding them, I Set My Friends On Fire is an American post-hardcore duo composed of Matt Mihanna (vocals) and Nabil Moo (vocals, programming). The duo first made themselves known on MySpace, where their rendition of Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat” (entitled “Crank Dat Calvary Boy”) received more than one million plays and shot them to the attention of Epitaph Records who recently put this album on the shelves. It’s been universally slated, so I’m not the only one who thinks this is a steaming pile of turd, The aim is to throw some kind of “brutal” music over some screaming vocals and to give them daft song titles. ‘Beauty Is In The Eyes of the Beerholder’,
‘Things That Rhyme with Orange‘ and ‘Reese’s Pieces, I Don’t Know Who John Cleese Is?’ are among the best/worst (delete as appropriate).
But the joke is lost as soon as the songs start. There’s no humour in the delivery, no humour in the lyrics and certainly nothing to get excited about. It’s just tuneless shouting and screaming over programmed drums and predictable chugging guitar riffs. This is just dreadful, dreadful, dreadful.