You know, I liked Poison the Well, I liked them a lot. In my opinion, "The Opposite of December" was a great album, and one that I listened to countless times. However, each album after that was a disappointment, including the completely overproduced "You Come Before You". I can say the same about Keepsake, their earlier stuff was good, but their newer stuff has been like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. A Jealousy Issue features former members of Poison the Well and Keepsake, but refuses to be written off as just another "ex-members" band.

While I do hear bits of both Poison the Well and Keepsake in this band's sound, they're doing their own thing, and they're a lot more pissed off. They do a lot of what is expected out of Floridian bands playing this kind of metalcore, spoken words ala Morning Again, acoustic guitar sprinkled here and there, etc. However, you won't find much singing, here, thankfully. The urgency in the vocal delivery really has the ability to carry some of these songs. People might not think it takes skill to scream, but trust me, there's a difference between a good and bad scream, and Duane Jealousy has quite the powerful voice. Musically, there some air guitar inducing riffs and some nice, tastefully placed breakdowns. I wouldn't be all that surprised to see this band turn up on the roster of label like Eulogy in the near future.

Lyrically, the band doesn't exactly stray into uncharted territory. Most of the songs on here are about relationships, failed, intimate, or otherwise. Take the song "Paperweight" for example: "I have no need for this heart, for it receives no love at all, so impractical in its nature, just a charming paper weight defined only by shape not worth." Although they aren't treading new ground, at least they're well written.

At the end of the day, A Jealousy Issue isn't exactly the savior of emotional metalcore, but they certainly do the job well enough. This band is more to the point than a lot of the other bands attempting this style, and as a result they are able to keep things more interesting. This genre is crowded, but that doesn't mean there still aren't good things to be found among the throwaways, if you're into this style of music at all, A Jealousy Issue is worth your attention.

Who Crucified The Chaperone? MP3