Baby, I'm Gettin' Better

Wavering between post-grunge and emo, Cohesion is an entirely derivative record, but has enough sincerity, bombast, and -- most importantly -- hooks to be excused for this. The songs rely on simple, appropriately dark guitar textures and simplistic punk rhythms that propel the music nicely, and Daniel Sanders has a nice youthful roar -- not too weepy, but just able to convey loud angst in a manner that makes it catchy instead of heart-wrenching. A couple of tunes utilize a slower tempo, and "Spider" has a bigger hook than the rest, but on the whole, the album is, indeed, cohesive -- straightforward enough to recall 3 Doors Down or My Chemical Romance, but also done with the slick precision that characterized post-grunge. It's obviously no coincidence that the record was produced by Gil Norton, who worked with Foo Fighters (as well as Pixies, but you won't hear them anywhere on Cohesion). Still, if this description sounds like it has all been done before, it's because it was -- the band may be no direct ripoff, but music of this sort had been filling up airwaves on modern rock radios for over a decade by 2010. But on Cohesion, it somehow becomes part of the package: this is teenager music, stuff written by a bunch of guys who discover the world with eyes wide open and overflowing with emotion, completely sure no one has ever experienced these feelings before -- or expressed them with this set of riffs and lyrics. The actual musicians may be past their teens, but it doesn't matter. Such a record cannot break any new ground by default, but Gyroscope's belief in what they do helps them to write some powerful songs that may require déjà vu suspension, but stay in mind nevertheless. ~ Alexey Eremenko