The Like - Release Me

I held off on posting this as long as possible because my initial reaction to The Like's sophomore effort was, "What happened!?" It took me a few listens to get on board, but I finally have. The trick was to not allow myself to compare the two albums. Release Me is very different from Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? and, given my love for their debut and everything they did on AYTWIT, I found I can only appreciate Release Me by not expecting the same things. Bands have to change over time, right? Right. (not according to this band lol***) Anyways, just had to get that off of my chest.

One change must be noted, however. The sound has gone slightly retro (background singers, vocals that parallel the main melodies, a cute little organ, early rock 'n' roll guitar (the "Sqaure One" intro sounds a lot like King Khan & BBQ Show's "Fish Fight"), etc.). In fact, this is probably the most important change to be aware of before listening to Release Me.

The album contains a few hits that can stand alone and are playlist worthy. The opening track, "Wishing He Was Dead," is a fun, catchy song that highlights one of my favorite aspects of Berg's vocals: the occasional faltering and cracking. The title track, Release Me, is another chorus-heavy sing-along-song dealing with a doomed relationship. It seems the theme of dysfunctional romance rings throughout.

Overall, the album's decent. Not a classic like AYTWIT, but still a good, girly, retro soundtrack for impending breakups. I'll definitely pull this out when I decide I'm too good for Cristiano Ronaldo...

*** The title track off the album contains the lyrics "Nothing ever changes / People never change."