In a time when music seems to be either driven by anger (hardcore/metalcore/etc) or rejection (pop punk/emo/etc) you don't know how refreshing it is to see a band that doesn't do that. My first thoughts about the Break- before hearing them- were that they would be a sort of average pop punk band because those are the bands they seem to have played with and be grouped with a lot. But trust me, this is no run of the mill pop punk band. In fact, they may not be a pop punk band at all.
People have told me- and I have read reviews- that have put the Break into a catagory of pop punk, saying they're catchy and all that jazz. But I just fail to see it. I fail to see how they can be compared to bands like New Found Glory, the Starting Line and so on.
The vocals of Jon Waverka aren't extremely high pitched, but rather lower and a bit gritty. Their music may hold some elements of pop punk and catchiness, but I don't feel it's enough to put them into a group of super annoying or even the pop punk bands that I like. I prefer to think of them as melodic rock, perhaps a band that could be very radio friendly.
So what is this music about anyway?
Don't get me wrong, there are songs about girls with lines like "the meaning of regret is that girl's name" ("the Meaning of Regret"), but there is more. There is substance people fail to express in music these days. Perhaps one of the most brilliant songs on this CD is the slap to the face of beauty "Boxcutter". The song examines beauty and ugliness, basically trying to shut down everything on television and in magazines as far as saying how someone should look. It's actually a song you need to go through and read the lyrics to, and maybe even tattoo them on your back. Lines from "And now the one thing that I'll never get to be is a person with the insides that look half as good as the face you want to see" to "no one's as ugly as someone else who finds their beauty on their reflection in someone else's shame", they profess that there is simply beauty in everything. For more of the commercial and market appeal, "So some mornings I think I almost see this isn't me in the mirror, that the face I'm painting, it has been sold to me".
From there, if you get to "Wait For the Wheel", you can hear the truest line in music today, "In a world with too many love songs, but not enough love".
Overall, this is a very impressive debut from a band who hasn't been around for more than a couple of years. I look forward to more good things from them to come in time.
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