Review Summary: embrace all that you feel.
It’s 1:30 in the morning. I have no clue why I haven’t decided to go to bed yet. I planned on listening to the new Sorority Noise album before work yesterday, but sadly I couldn’t get it on my phone in time. This misfortune, however, grants something I was unprepared for. I’m smiling, wide as can be, as tears roll down my face. The slow, eerie riff of ‘Leave The Fan On’ plays as I continue to write. Nothing prepared me for this. The beautiful, atmospheric tones of both ‘First Letter…’ songs. The depressing contrast of the lyrics within ‘Where Are You Now?’ with the upbeat tone of the instrumentals; “I’ve got friends who have died/But everything’s gonna be alright”. Every explosion of noise, coupled with every sombre moment, just
fits. Nothing could feel more important right now than this album playing, going for the jugular and instead piercing the heart.
And no matter the amount of terribly cliché emo moments, an example being “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen God/And I’m not trying to lead him on/But he’s always trying to *** me/To the tune of my favourite song,” from ‘A Portrait Of’, or the droning of the vocals on nearly every track, everything has its place. You can’t help but chant along with everything you hear. You’re a part of the struggles presented. Even the title,
You’re Not As ____ As You Think, is left to interpretation by us, the listener. And perhaps that’s its strongest attribute; the ability to understand the album separate from someone else. To put yourself in that title and associate it with something important to you. And it’s certainly no coincidence that as ‘New Room’ fades out, the album starts all over with ‘New Halo’ as if nothing had happened. And I, for one, am prepared to go again. To smile and cry. To chant and cheer along with Sorority Noise. Feel every last bit of emotion bleeding from the band. And I hope you can too.
