Album Reviews

“Flies In All Directions” is the name of Weatherbox’ latest release but it doesn’t quite live up to its title, seeing as it’s the most cohesive, catchy and organic album that Brian Warren and co have released to date. Longtime fans don’t need to worry though… it’s still filled with the kind of angular riffs, start-stop rhythms and narrative lyrics that the band has become known for but we are treated to a more mature, focused version this time around.

To not just throw you in the deep right away, Weatherbox kicks off the album with “Pagan Baby”, a song that is not too different from what we’ve already heard on “American Art” and “The Cosmic Drama”. Other hints of the band’s past can be found throughout the album in songs like “The Fresh Prints Of Bill Ayers” and “Kick-Flips”.

But it’s songs like “The Devil And Whom?” and “Dark All Night For Us” that help lift this album to the next level. The former is five and half minutes of acoustic meandering through Warren’s darkest thoughts with a little help from Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull while the latter slowly morphs into a fist-pumper of anthemic proportions.

Over the course of 54 minutes, Weatherbox take us on a trip that covers all the different aspects of their emo/indie-rock/pop-punk sound and seemingly effortlessly combine the best elements of their previous full-lengths in order to create something that serves as one helluva fuck you to the band’s critics and as their best release to date.