1. "Sticks & Bricks"
2. "All I Want"
3. "It's Complicated"
4. "This Is the House That Doubt Built"
5. "2nd Sucks"
6. "Better Off This Way"
7. "All Signs Point to Lauderdale"
8. "You Be Tails, I'll Be Sonic"
9. "Out of Time"
10. "If I Leave"
Recommended If You Like: Four Year Strong, Lions Lions, All At Risk
Pop-moshers around the world rejoice! A Day To Remember has finally released their follow-up to 2009's Homesick, and they've once again shown that they really are the rightful kings of this genre. Blending pop-punk and hardcore/metalcore comes easily to these Florida boys, and they know how to use that talent.
What Separates Me From You is a roller coaster of emotion, with tracks ranging from the absolutely brutal to radio-friendly, yet true to their sound. They haven't changed their sound much from their last release, however, which left me very relieved. Homesick is one of my favorite albums, and it consistently finds its way back onto my playlist.
"Sticks And Bricks" takes you by the hand and hurls you headlong into a metalcore driven effort to kickstart What Separates Me From You, with Jeremy McKinnon's vocals growling through the verse before giving way to a melodic chorus. ADTR really knows how to grab your attention on the album opener. They follow it up with "All I Want", a more melodic effort. I can't help but draw similarities between this song and songs off of Homesick, and I like being able to do that. "It's Complicated" lets the pop-punk side of things show a little more obviously, with a poppy guitar intro and McKinnon's clean vocals guiding the way. An acoustic guitar with a little touch of overdrive intros the next track "This Is The House That Doubt Built". This song switches between a ballad-like chorus and heavy verses. "2nd Sucks" fades in and starts with a clip from what I can only hope is the announcer from Mortal Kombat shouting "FIGHT!", before breaking into one big breakdown of a track.
ADTR starts the second half of the album with "Better Off This Way". With driving guitars and drums that give way to a flowing chorus. It makes an appearance earlier in the album as well, but if my ears don't deceive me, they've got a piano lending its aid fairly prominently during the chorus. In my opinion, this was a great decision on their part because it really fits the mood of the song well. "All Signs Point To Lauderdale" begins with some palm muted guitars and McKinnon singing the chorus calmly, before the full force comes in and rounds out their pop-mosh sound. "You Be Tails, I'll Be Sonic" might be my favorite song on the album, and not just because of the title (though that did contribute). They once again move to the melodic metalcore sound they do so well, and it's just an all around fun track. They follow that up with "Out Of Time", a pop-punk infused hard-rocking song. What Separates Me From You closes up shop with "If I Leave". They play a little bit of a trick on the listener by starting it with a soft, clean guitar riff. That ramps up suddenly to a full blown, hard-hitting guitar and drum onslaught.
Overall, A Day To Remember have delivered another stellar album. What Separates Me From You is familiar, but not recycled. It has the good old ADTR sound, but stands apart from their other albums. They have crafted an enjoyable listen that I highly recommend picking up.
