HEYDAY

I believe there is a new found love that I gained for the post punk genre with bands like The Cure, black midi, Oingo Boingo, and Television, all of which showcasing the genre's more expansive sounds that can be both joyous, and quite sad. It is surprisingly a very versatile genre. With that being said though, I do believe that there are things the genre has that I am not very pleased about, such as the more overly commercial post punk revival of the early 2000s that bands like The Killers have attempted. I am also not the biggest fan of the more, overly bizarre and experimental bands like This Heat that really doesn't do the genre much of any favors besides trying to be too weird. The inverse of that weirdness also comes true when it feels bland, and sadly, for me, Heyday by The Church is one of the more formulaic examples of post punk.

I feel like within the sphere of post punk, you can do a lot, and really work on what sound you want to create in this very varied genre. Within Heyday, The Church decided to go for a more gothic rock and new wave sounds, with almost Velvet Underground-like vocal works, which creates a more unique sound the band clearly has a knack for, with songs that feel very bouncy but also with a melancholy edge.

My main problem with this album comes in two factors:

Every song on here just sounds way too similar, to the point where it feels almost like the band isn't really trying. The only exception to this is Trance Ending, which is more or less a bonus track on digital and cd releases, so it doesn't quite count. Tantalized does have some interesting uses of horns and rhythm, but other than that, most of these songs just sound and feel the same, and as someone who loves more variety within their music, it all just makes this feel very generic to me, fully invalidating the unique sound the band seemingly was going for.

I do not like the vocals at all. I know I said earlier that this album gave a unique sound, but as someone who just never liked vocals like this, especially within bands like The Velvet Underground, it just really loses the experience. I know they are trying to go for a more melancholic thematic with the music, and so having monotonous vocals does make sense, but it just makes me lose interest. It makes the music sound boring and lifeless, not filled with emotions of inconsolableness.

All that, plus the almost hour long run time just makes this album as a whole feel less of anything to me. Individually, I think these songs definitely work decently, and I can definitely imagine myself listening to one or two of these melodies on occasion, but as a whole package it just feels bland to me.