BAYSIDE
THERE ARE WORSE THINGS THAN BEING ALIVE REVIEW

Bayside is an American Punk Rock band from New York City formed in 2000. Since their formation, they have released 9 albums. When I was asked to review Bayside’ s newest album “There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive”, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Sadly, I have never listened to Bayside prior to this album review. To allow myself to get assimilated with their sound I listened to some of their older songs such as “Devotion and Desire”, “It don’t Exist” (which was a very lovely song), “Blame it on Bad Luck”, “We’ll be O.K and several others. When listening to these older songs I noticed the bands’ ability to create heart pounding punk rocks songs but also enrich each song with meaningful and relatable lyrics. The writing and lyrical delivery of their music hit me the most. One narrative I noticed with each song I listened to was that even though some songs talked about anguish and pain they always had a tone of hope and forgiveness in them. That is the music that resonates with me the most and Bayside delivered that.

Now that I had an understand of their history, I went into reviewing this album with an understanding over their growth and change over the last 20 years. This album did bring some differences in the compositional style the band put into these records compared to previous songs I listened to. The first song on the album The Devils, started giving me a Pirates of The Caribbean vibe with the opening but quickly launched into some killer electric guitars, drums, and vocals. It was not a straight on punk song but a blend between rock and roll and punk mixed with melodic tones throughout the song. The vocals were very streamlined and matched the song perfectly. It’s definitely a solid opener for the album!

Go To Hell was even better and much more my vibe. This was the 3rd track on the records. I really loved this one. Given the title you wouldn’t think it would be upbeat, but it definitely goes in that direction! There is a lyric in the song that really does hit you in the gut a bit, the lyric, “Hello old friend, you are a sight to see. Do you remember when we could have been anything at all?”. That lyric really resonated with me because as we get older, we sometimes look back at our younger self and wonder what could have been if we had made different choices. That is what I felt when I heard that part of the song. The song is fun and upbeat and does make you want to jump around. I feel like it belongs in a movie soundtrack somewhere and wouldn’t be surprised to hear it in one someday! Do not miss this track, it was my favorite on the album.

Miracle was another amazing song. Once again, the vocals and instrumentals have such a powerful medley together. It got my heart racing. This is definitely an oxytocin booster! Add it to your gym or road trip playlist and turn up the volume on this one! Overall, I enjoyed being exposed to Bayside for the first time. Having the opportunity to listen to this record and also listen to their older material really made me a fan. The band definitely lives up to their punk rock style and I was very impressed with their range of lyrical writings and powerful musical compositions. Thank you Bayside, you know have a dedicated fan!

Bayside is currently on tour and stopped by the Ritz Music Venue in Raleigh recently! Check out our coverage post on our website for pictures! Hopefully you got to see their amazing performance! If they’re coming to a tour stop near you, be sure to grab your tickets and for any punk rock fans out there, I would pick up this album because it really is that good!

Album review by Allyson Romano

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