Recover

This May Be The Year I Disappear (2004)

AttackSustainDecay

Wow, this is an awful album. I loved Rodeo And Picasso, and surprisingly enjoyed the French EP even more. But this they really can't be serious about. I cannot picture another scenario other than all 4 members of the band plus Rory Phillips sitting around laughing about how big of a joke this album is. It's a good laugh, I'll give it that. But that's the short version. You want details? Here they are…

The album kicks off with "Night Of The Creeps," a very Recover-esque rock tune that ends with a few "nah nah's." Very forgettable, much like the second song, "Simple." At the most, it'll keep a Recover fan interested enough to continue listening, but don't worry, it gets worse. "Disappear" I had already heard from a friend of a friend that played drums with the producer's former roomate's nephew. The song wasn't bad at all; loud, catchy, and fun, sans the Cher vocals in the chorus. "Slower" and "Fuck Me For Free" are probably the best songs on the album. They're about half as good as anything the band's written prior to this, but no judgement yet.

So where are we now? Oh yeah, track six, "LA." With horrid vocals supporting an even worse batch of lyrics, this song really sums up what you're in for from here on in. I can't get over how bad the lyrics are. They're bad. Like, "Let's go have some drinks, find a girl, maybe we will fall in love tonight, tonight! We'll have so much fun!" bad.

It still gets worse. They decided to re-record two songs off their last release, which I can only assume had to do with the fact that they are two really good songs and it's a lot better than fluff I suppose. Way to pull a Mest. However, at least Mest was smart enough to leave the song or songs as they were, and not ruin them. "My Only Cure" and "Push Push" are completely butchered. The old recordings of these songs were great, and while I'm not one of those people that cannot accept the fact that the older recording is sometimes going to be the weaker one, I can confirm that these songs literally sound like demos at this point.

"Crashed" isn't bad either, but there's a guitar interlude that rips off Clapton, so, next.

"Once In A While" is an acoustic ballad that lasts about 20 seconds, and leaves you in silence for the remainder of the the 2-and-a-half minute track. Why?

To tell you the truth, I didn't even listen to the last song but I'm sure it sucked too.
All in all, if you're a Recover fan, there's a chance you might still enjoy this record. Apparently these guys put on an awful live show with their love for breaking equipment and having long hair getting in the way of performing in a decent manner. I'm sure it always helped that their albums were decent. Now, I cannot see what they're going to do next. I know! Continue to be the quintessential "opening band."