Review: Bayside 'Interrobang'
Bayside ‘Interrobang’ album artwork
Bayside has always felt like another one of those bands that flies under the radar with their releases and though they may not always get a ton of attention, consistently put out strong material that keeps their devoted fan base happy. Many probably forget that this band has been around since the early 2000’s (officially forming in Queens, New York in October of 2000) and was part of the original tour de force of Victory Records bands which included bands like; Silverstein, Hawthorne Heights, and Atreyu. Needless to say, their brand of melodic and emo tinged punk rock has stuck with fans for almost 20 years now and the band has never shied away from doing their own thing. That theme is very apparent on their eight studio release titled Interrobang. The title is derived from the literature term that combines an exclamation point and question mark into one singular punctuation mark. By means of definition, it’s used to add an exclamation to a query or rhetorical question. Interrobang certainly answers its own question by providing a raucous and aggressive romp that leaves you disorientated but wanting more and more.
From the opener title track, Interrobang keeps you on your toes and introduces you to many of Bayside’s strengths. The catchy and melodic riffage of lead guitarist Jack O’Shea, the hard-hitting drums and chugging bass lines, to the unique and engaging vocals of lead singer Anthony Raneri. Bayside has always been so good at tying together fast-paced punk stylings with almost theatrical vocal melodies that make such a deadly combination when done right. They don’t do many wrongs here on “Interrobang”.
Experimentation was a huge theme on this album and you can tell the band definitely made that effort here. This album leans more into the heavier influences of Bayside, which is a hat that the band wears very well. It harkens back some of their older classics like ‘Devotion and Desire’ and ‘Sick, Sick, Sick’. ‘Prayers’ literally punches you in the face with a nu-metal/punk riff that just straight up rips. It actually feels very Sum 41-ish if I had to make a direct comparison. The almost classic metal riffs combined with the smooth vocal melodies are very much closely related. ‘Numb’ also follows a similar influence as the opening riff makes me feel like I’m listening to a classic Chevelle song, which is a combination that sounds like it wouldn’t work at face value, but trust me, it does.
If you enjoy some of Bayside’s more melodic fare, then have no fear, this album has something for you too. ‘Heaven’ is a fun sing-along type number that leans on its vocal melodies to bring you through. It’s also got an excellent little guitar solo in the bridge that really keeps the flow of the song going. ‘Medication’ is about as close to pop-punk as this band will get and I get strong Motion City Soundtrack vibes during this song. It’s probably the catchiest song on the album. Though each song is around 3-4 minutes long, it’s still a fast-paced album that never really slows down throughout its 36 minutes and 10 song listing. I think this intention works very well as the more melodic songs end up serving as the change of pace tracks that give you a slight breather, but don’t end up derailing the energy of the entire album. If anything, it’s a couple of the heavier listings that end up slowing some of the momenta.
However, the tracks that are outstanding on this album are outstanding and as I stated previously, Bayside’s biggest strengths are on full display here. There are some just downright fun guitar riffs on this album and kudos to Jack O’Shea and Anthony Raneri for continually finding ways to make Bayside’s guitar work stand out among the many punk bands out there. They did a great job on this record utilizing their unique passages and combining them with some heavier metal-tinged elements. There are a ton of riffs that just catch you off guard and make you go, “oh ok, I dig it, I dig it!”
Lead Vocalist Anthony Raneri is very much underrated in my eyes and has one of the most unique voices in the punk scene. He has this interesting way of building tension throughout a song and has definitely mastered the ins and outs of his voice. He manages to infuse a lot of dramatic and theatrical inflection (and some nice vibrato) into his vocal passages which he oftentimes uses to blend in with the instrumentation during a verse. Then in the blink of an eye, he soars into a catchy and oftentimes aggressive chorus that just keeps you enthralled the whole way through. The vocal production is very solid on this record and you can clearly hear Raneri’s vocal quality and melodies throughout. It’s the little things like the higher verse octaves on ‘Interrobang’ and gang vocals and almost minor-key harmonies on ‘Bury Me’ that make this album stand out and showcase so much of Bayside’s wheelhouse.
As a whole, this album really impressed me and I am looking forward to re-listening to it a lot to pick up things I didn’t catch the first time. It seems like Bayside have found an excellent home on Hopeless Records and it’s just awesome to see them still kicking strong after almost 20 years together as a band. This album nails its heavy elements and also showcases Bayside’s excellent melodic characteristics as well. Outside of a couple of small jolts in momentum, this album grooves from start to finish and though it may slip under a lot of radars, deserves all the praise it can get. This is an extremely talented band that continues to put out quality releases while staying true to its roots. I highly recommend you go jam this album right now and go support them on their upcoming Interrobang Club Tour. To buy the album and see tour dates in a city near you, visit https://www.baysidebayside.com/
Favorite Tracks:
Interrobang
Prayers
Bury Me
Tall
Medication
Numb
Heaven