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by David Kerschner Published: May 10, 2005
Armor For Sleep Is: Ben Jorgensen Anthony DiIonno PJ Decicco Nash Breen Throughout its 11 tracks, songwriter Ben Jorgensen tells a dramatic story involving the main character's suicide note, car accident, disillusion with the world around him, and ascent into heaven. Lyrically this album is very narrative and referential, with verses that very often serve as windows into what the character is thinking or doing at the time. While this approach to songwriting often runs the risk of becoming repetitive, weighty, and boring, Jorgensen pulls it off well because of the unique concept behind the words and the broad range of emotions he is able to capture with them. Musically speaking, Armor For Sleep have clearly broadened their sound with this release. Certain songs, such as "Stay On The Ground" and "Remember To Feel Real", have a harder edge to them then anything from previous works, featuring heavy, full sounding guitar riffs, driving basslines, and raw vocals. Other songs, such as "Basement Ghost Singing" and "Walking At Night, Alone", feature spacey and mellow guitar work with driving choruses, reminiscent of their previous work, in particular songs such as "The Wanderers Guild" and "Slip Like Space" off of Dream To Make Believe. With the song "Car Underwater", Armor For Sleep has presented an excellent power-pop song, featuring soft and sincere verses perfectly complemented by a catchy and huge sounding chorus. One problem that I do have with the music, however, is that the same song structure of Verse / Chorus / Verse / Chorus / Bridge / Chorus is used heavily throughout the progression of the album and at times gives the music a very rigid and predictable feel. Regarding production, producer Machine did an excellent and consistent job throughout the album. On this record Ben's voice sounds much fuller and confident than on Dream To Make Believe. The sound throughout the cd is very guitar driven, but it is done so without sacrificing the ability to clearly hear the drum and bass, and overall all effects that are used add a feel of building to each song and are appropriate. Overall, I think the best way to describe What To Do When You Are Dead is as an album who's collective sum is greater than its individual parts. The album flows very well from one track to the next, commanding the listeners attention and drawing them into the storyline. The albums artwork is very interesting and the accompanying booklet really helps to add to and illustrate the concept behind the cd. I was impressed by the broad range of sound and influence that Armor For Sleep incorporated into this release and how much they had progressed vocally, lyrically, and musically. What To Do When You Are Dead is almost certain to please their existing fans and will most likely gain them new fans among those who wrote them off as a simple “emo” band without much musical diversity in the past. I would recommend anyone who was previously a fan of Armor For Sleep to pick this album up, the bonus dvd, artwork, and concept behind the release really make it worthwhile. If you've never heard Armor For Sleep before, check out their Purevolume Account. |
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