Anarchy, My Dear (Digi-Pak)

Say Anything has been making odd, unclassifiable indie rock music since they were teenagers, playing strangely literate and loud rock, characterized by what one might imagine if Larry David fronted a Fugazi cover band with the members of Queen. Having been birthed from the indie/punk boom of the early twenty-first century, Say Anything rose to prominence with their (oddly) popular record IS a REAL BOY and somehow broke the - pretty boy punk - mold by establishing a career that thrived somewhere between music your pretentious college student of an older brother would like and the loud crap that your little brother uses to annoy him with. Say Anything followed that record up with the equally eclectic and lengthy, IN DEFENSE OF THE GENRE and their exceedingly bratty (hopefully in a good way) self-titled LP. Their fourth studio album, ANARCHY, MY DEAR, promises more of all of the above.

In what might be one of the most pleasantly angst-filled albums of the punk revival, Max Bemis gets back to the earlier, more thematic days of Say Anything on Anarchy, My Dear. With a sound that leans more toward the pop side of pop-punk, the album creates a nice contrast between the pleasant melodies of the songs and the seething, dissatisfied lyrics that rest on top of them. That spirit of discontent is prevalent throughout the entire album, which finds Bemis taking the opportunity to lash out at the world around him in a gesture of anti-cool catharsis. While his target seems to be society, the singer seems to especially delight in taking shots at so-called hipster culture, with songs like "Admit It Again" taking shots at a music scene that he perceives as throwing him aside for the next big thing in what quickly turns from a pleasant tune to an uncomfortable rant in no time at all. While this hatred toward hipsters and the hipster things they do because they're hipsters makes for an awkward detour, the rest of the album doesn't dwell on it, shaking off the hate and quickly getting back to a more subdued, pop-friendly general rage against society that shows off Say Anything's edgier side while still maintaining the penchant for catchy songwriting that brought fans to them in the first place. ~ Gregory Heaney, Rovi

Performer	Say Anything
Music genre	Rock, Punk Rock
Music subgenre	CD - ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Music release type	Release
Media format	CD
Original release date	2012
Edition	Standard
Language	English
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Say Anything - Anarchy My Dear [CD]
Track listing	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Record label	RELATIVITY ENT
Track name	Burn A Miracle
Duration	48 min
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N