In the beginning, The Almost was overshadowed by Aaron Gillespie’s other incarnation as the drummer and clean vocalist in Underoath. Initially The Almost was a solo project for the debut album ‘Southern Weather’ (2007). It then involved the whole band for their other albums, ‘Monster, Monster’ (2009) and ‘Fear Inside Our Bones’ (2013).
Along the way they have toured with Paramore, The Starting Line, The Used and been on the Vans Warped Tour. Also their recording label, Tooth & Nail has recently become an independent label. The line-up is Aaron Gillespie (lead vocals & guitar), Jay Vilardi (guitars), Dusty Redmon (guitars), Jon Thompson (bass), and Joe Musten (drums).
The latest offering was recorded at Nashville’s Omni Studios with producer Marshall Altman (Tom Morello, Ingrid Michaelson, William Fitzsimmons). The songs were recorded live with all the members together in a single room. Gillespie stated “It wasn’t a piecemeal process as the majority of modern records are. The album was born at that moment from our collective blood, sweat and tears.”
The lead single and album opener ‘Ghost’ is bursting with raw energy as it thunders out of the blocks. It crackles with southern rock histrionics. “Hey, you’re so wrong / I’m so far gone / I’ve left you behind / I can’t hear, you almost forgot you / Hear me now / You can judge the ghost inside”. Gillespie explains, “You have to test yourself. So often, we take things that we see and hear at face value. With yourself, you can’t do that. You’ve got to test everything. You can’t trust yourself until you’ve tested yourself. You’ve got to run your thinking through the lens.”
By contrast ‘Fear Inside Our Bones’ has a restrained guitar and sitar section before letting rip. Similarly, ‘I’m Down’ starts off as alt-country before rampaging through the landscape like a juggernaut. Gillespie stated, “It’s about relationships. For me, I felt like I failed someone and I was wondering if I could even give anything else. In a relationship, you get to that point where you wonder if you’ve failed so bad the other person will even accept anything else from you. You have to show the change in your heart and life for it to work.”
Then it’s an unabashed full-on rocker ‘Never Be Like You’ as they finally let the hard-driven guitar loose from start to finish. This is coupled with the more traditional sing-along rock of ‘Come On’ before completely relaxing into ‘The Florida Sun’. This melodic interlude yearns for a simplistic lifestyle away from the everyday stresses and strains. “All the songs that I sung / All the hearts I thought I won / After everything I’ve done, I wanna go back to the Florida sun”.
Having taken a breather, they come back off the ropes with the raucous ‘Fight Song’. With renewed vigour they vow “I’ll stay right here / I’ll face my fears / I’ll ride to the death / there’s not one fight left”. And ‘I Won’t Let Go’ ambles along before bursting out into anthemic rock. Then ‘So What’ lashes out at the bands retractors. “So what if I don’t give a care / who you think I really am / and never ever understand? / So what, so what?”
After such an energetic section, it’s back to more melodic territory for ‘Love Is Coming Down’ and they finish with the whimsical ‘Lonely Boy’. This album is a glorious declaration of the band coming of age.
Rating: 8.5/10
Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby
Tracklist:
01. Ghost
02. Fear Inside Our Bones
03. I’m Down
04. Never Be Like You
05. Come On
06. The Florida Sun
07. Fight Song
08. I Won’t Let Go
09. So What
10. Love Is Coming Down
11. Lonely Boy
Band members:
Aaron Gillespie – lead vocalist/lyrics/guitar
Jay Vilardi – guitars
Dusty Redmon – guitars
Jon Thompson – bass
Joe Musten – drums
Discography:
Fear Inside Our Bones, 2013
Monster Monster: Deluxe Edition, 2010
Monster Monster EP, 2010
Monster Monster, 2009
Monster EP, 2009
No Gift To Bring EP, 2008
Southern Weather, 2007
Record Label: Tooth & Nail Records, June 2013
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
USA: Metal Helm
Video below for ‘Fear Inside Our Bones’