Old Gray - Everything I Let Go and The Things I Refuse To
Release Date: 22 August 2013 (Europe)
Record Label: Dog Knights Productions
Rating: 7.8
For Fans Of: La Dispute, Saetia, Merchant Ships
By Mark Garza
By Mark Garza
For a lot of people, Old Gray is one of the
first bands they listen to when they start getting into emo, screamo or
“skramz.” Old Gray has had a history of solid releases, never failing to leave
an impression and get listeners enthusiastic over this oftentimes newly found
genre of honest, passionate music. Though Everything
I Let Go and The Things I Refuse To was a hit or miss for many and came out
a year ago this November, it remains one of my favorite EPs of 2012 that
remains true to Old Gray’s sound while exploring newer, darker territory.
Everything
opens with a spoken word piece courtesy of Charlie
Singer that, whether because of the striking delivery or the words themselves,
leaves a stout sensation of loss and regret, of defeat and concession. Old Gray
solidified a love of spoken word in many, and for good reason. The lyrics are
exactly what you’d expect from a Midwest emo band: candid and easy to relate to without
being too cryptic or complex.
Resonance is the second track and possibly
the least powerful on the record, not for any inconsistencies or faults within
the track but because every other song overshadows it in terms of delivery and
memorability. While giving a taste of their darker, slightly more hostile side,
Resonance just doesn’t cut it as much as the other tracks do. The most powerful
point of this song is the buildup towards the conclusion, where everything
builds upon each other before Cameron Boucher screams repeatedly “I’m so tired
of dying each night.”
Winter ’11 is the only song to feature all
of Old Gray on vocals on this EP and is arguably its greatest track,
highlighting both the screamed and spoken aspects of Old Gray’s repertoire. When
Raphael screams “What do you want from me that you cannot say? What do you want
from me that I cannot do?” in Polish, it flows tremendously smoothly from the previous
line’s English standing and has a noticeable ring that is as attention-grabbing
as it is urgent. Singer’s verses never disappoint and hold a special rawness in
this track that leads into Boucher and Bastek’s powerful departing words: “Today
I am what I never was: I am truly alone. Tomorrow I'll be what I wish I were
today: I won't be afraid anymore.”
The final departure from Old Gray’s darkest
and most haunting album is Six Years which starts off with a sample from Freaks
and Geeks (not the Childish Gambino song) about a dead grandma. Six Years is a
much easier listen than Winter ’11, being less heavy and more coherent
throughout instrumentally while still hitting all the right chords emotionally.
I keep touching on final words, but “This time next year, will I have the
courage to say, ‘I’m sorry, are you still proud of me?’”are probably, hands
down, the best parting lyrics of any of these songs.
Essentially, Everything was and is a really good EP. Old Gray showed a more
sinister, darker side to themselves and followed up with the phenomenal An Autobiography which is gonna make a
lot of EOTY lists. It’s only a matter of
time before Old Gray breaks up, go see them now.
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