I’ve found past albums from Everything Everything to be a bit of a mixed bag; the tracks I like, I really like, the tracks I don’t like, well, I appreciate others do. There’s a predictable pattern though, I tend to like the first few tracks on the album and then it drifts off. I’ve always appreciated the songwriting talent on show, the compositions, the vocal style, the interesting guitar parts; all I want for them is an album that’s all killer, no filler. With Get To Heaven, they’ve certainly got a lot closer. It’s a lot more consistent in it’s delivery. That’s not to say all the tracks sound the same, the varied styles are still there, just that the slower tracks are better written and delivered.
It starts strong with ‘Blast Doors’, a track which sounds complex but maintains a steady pattern in the rhythm section meaning it’ll no doubt be a big track to dance to over the summer festival season. ‘Get To Heaven’ is another upbeat one which started out positive, although the weird guitar noodling later in the song completely ruined it for me; it’s an odd progression from lush, summery, guitars to a youtube “____ Shreds” video. I can’t work out why it’s there. Thankfully the annoyance doesn’t last too long, full on pop hit ‘Regret’, fairly shameless with it’s polished delivery and grand vocals, is an absolute treat, complete with a short guitar solo which actually works for the track.
‘To The Blade’ is an interesting track, starting with just an odd synthesiser and some vocals the track eventually hits with some excellent guitar playing, the drums and the bass raising the energy for the chorus. ‘Warm Healer’ shows off the band’s technical prowess, the bass line interesting, the drums a complex pattern in 6/4, the guitars just adding a bit of detail to the track. It’s amazing that with so much going on the track is still fairly easy on the ears. I think this is something Everything Everything do well, they create music that can appeal to a mainstream audience, yet under the surface lies a more complex beast. It’s not just simple 4/4 verse-chorus-verse stuff, the arrangements actually interesting, the guitar parts varying between angular stabs and subtle patterns. As far as Get To Heaven goes, it’s certainly a strong album. I’m not sure it’s quite at the point where I’d listen to the whole thing repeatedly but it’s certainly more consistent throughout than their previous efforts. When it’s good it’s excellent and even when it’s not quite as good it’s still certainly not bad.
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