Not only did Bayside celebrate its essence of being a band with a scorching set that was recorded live in New York City on August 17, 2008 (and released as the Live At The Bayside Social Club), there is also a new studio release with twelve new songs to absorb. Frankly, Bayside is all about the lyrics. The charismatic songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Anthony Raneri lays his heart down for anyone to step on or mangle. His lyrics take the listener through his personal hell. Life sucks sometimes, and Raneri doesn’t coat its inherent suckiness with any kind of laxative. It’s the shits, and I believe it hurts Raneri when he sings his words. He is ever reflective on his surroundings, including the people he knows.
The song that offers the most evidence of his tortured soul is “Demons,” easily the best moment on this release. Truthful to the core, Raneri tells us that the subject of his song is equally tortured: “You don’t love you anymore / Cast your demons aside / Keep them close enough to know what your running from.” So, while trying to avoid the evils in life, you have to keep them close to you to remind you constantly what you don’t want to be. How many of us keep a picture of yourself when you were a geek close by just so you remember you don’t want to be like the person in the picture? Okay, maybe just me. But there’s value in Raneri’s lyrics as a lesson to his listeners.
Raneri’s songs continue to be heartaches with music, able to capitalize on his emotions and his strength as a songwriter and a musician. The music is fairly simple, usually featuring a straightforward guitar riff, which makes the material easy to commit to memory. The parts played by guitarist Jack O’Shea, bassist Nick Ghanbarian and drummer Chris Guglielmo provide plenty of spark on this release. The first single “No One Understands” is typical Bayside when Raneri sings, “My mom always said I was named for a saint / But I never felt like I was blessed.” Later, he says, “I turn this up as loud as it goes / And it ain’t doing much for the pain.” Raneri is clearly a tortured soul even in his music.
The most unique song on this release is definitely “Moceanu,” a quirky acoustic piece in 3/4 time. Raneri sings, “I’m s-i-c-k of my meaningless life / Where c-h-a-n-c-e-s pass me by / That’s r-e-a-l-i-t-y,” which is later followed by the revelation that Raneri’s past holds special meaning to him when he remarks, “I think I knew more when I was 13 / When did life get so real? / And now I feel like I’m losing my mind / I used to think all the time / Now thinking hurts, and feeling is worse / I liked reality better when it was a dream.” Those lyrics, every time I either read or listen to Raneri sing them, send shivers through my body.
Bayside is one of the best rock bands around. Their previous releases are constantly in my playlist and I never get tired of listening to the band’s energy. Their ability to set heartbreak to music is so pleasing to the ear. I strongly urge you to check out this band. They haven’t broken into the mainstream media, but they will, and this release is your chance to hear them before they are a household word.
