Kids in the Way
Apparitions of Melody: The Dead Letters Edition
Flicker
I must admit, I’m not that fond of screamo. I don’t really like all the emoting and whining, etc. That being said, I absolutely love Kids in the Way. I saw them perform – in Chadron, Nebraska of all places – and they absolutely blew me away. I almost wore out their first album, Safe From the Losing Fight and once I saw that they had released their second album, Apparitions of Melody: The Dead Letters Edition, I could not wait to hear it. Once I did, I was floored. I was expecting it to be good, but not this good.
Apparitions of Melody is much darker than their previous effort, but the most noticeable improvement is in the vocals of David Pelsue. On the first album, before he would wail he would let this brief little whine which distracted from otherwise fabulous songs. This time around I have noticed only one instance, and I’ve been looking for them. Not only that, but he is singing better and his screams are much more controlled and forceful, giving each song even more of an edge.
The bruising trio of “Fiction,” the title track and “Safety in the Darkness” makes for one of the most punishing openings of an album ever slapped against your eardrums. “Fiction” has an intoxicating chorus (“We’re making fiction of our lives/ Burning pages as we write”) and the driving “Apparitions of Melody” and “Safety in the Darkness” pull the listener in and don’t let go until the last second of the last song, “This Could Be the Song that Will Change Your Heart.”
“Safety in the Darkness” shows Pelsue’s vocal growth as he switches from scream to sing on the line “I close my eyes to see the light/ That’s leading me.”
Kids in the Way also do a hard and impressive version of the Tears for Fears classic “Head Over Heels,” which just adds to an already fantastic album. Apparitions of Melody: The Dead Letters Edition is one of the best albums of the year. Forget Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights and all those other whiny screamo bands; Kids in the Way reign supreme. Hands down.
Kids in the Way: http://www.kidsintheway.com
