I See Stars - The End Of The World Party

It is impossible to deny that the coming months will either make-or-break crabcore’s standing in the modern emo soundscape. As the acts that popularized this particular “-core” sound (which is hallmarked by dance beats enjambed with chugging breakdowns, soaring growls, screams, and shrieks, and Auto-Tuned clean vocals) begin to release their second (or third) albums, the time has come to see whether this particular fad will fade, or will carry on as a meaningful contribution to modern alternative music. I See Stars is one of these bands. The band’s 2009 debut 3D was an irrefutable success and a picture of well-harnessed talent, with choruses bigger than anything in All Time Low’s catalog and breakdowns heavier than BlessTheFall’s debut album. This is why The End Of The World Party is a disappointment on many, many levels. With this record, not only has the band possibly sounded crabcore’s first death knell, but they have also killed a large amount of the hype that they built up following their debut album by producing a record disappointing instrumentally, vocally, and lyrically.

The beginning of this album is no doubt one of the falsest starts seen in modern music. The opening track is everything the rest of the record is not, with the perfect combination of punishing riffs and smooth pop choruses complementing clean singer Devin Oliver’s soaring voice. Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn’t follow suit. In fact, the majority of the record from this point onwards sounds like B-sides from Forever The Sickest Kids. From the boring “Over It,” to the cringe-worthy “Home For The Weekend,” to the fustercluck that is “Upside Down,” there is little redeedming value to this collection of songs. Oliver’s excessive over-dependence on Auto-Tune is disappointing, considering he proved on the last album, and in the opener, that he does have a strong set of pipes. To put it plainly, the songs are uninspired, the lyrics are cheesy (often centering around a high school theme), and harsh vocalist Zach Johnson’s screams, who could have saved the album from complete mediocrity, is so underused it could be considered criminal. Even “The Common Hours II,” a track that is supposedly a sequel to one of 3D’s strongest tracks, reinforces the idea of the crappy sequel.

Obviously, The End Of The World Party is not a good record. While the opening track is excellent, the rest of the record is uninspired and not even worthy of a footnote in the annals of the releases of 2011. In a way, it is good that the world is ending 2012. If music has deteriorated to this level, one must be thankful that everything will be over before it can degenerate further.