Over the years I have come across many albums that I thought were amazing from the start, New Found Glory-S/T, AFI-The Art Of Drowning, Thursday-Full Collapse, The Used-S/T, and the list goes on. I can now add Manic by Knockout Kid to that impressive list. From the first listen I knew this album was going to be a good album. It has been 5 months since its release but it has been on constant rotation for me. It’s just one of those albums that is easily relatable. Even If you yourself have not experienced what Wade is singing/screaming about he makes it easy to understand what was going on in his head.
What makes a band stick out? Well there are a few things. It can be their appearance, sound, or lyrics. For me it’s lyrics that pull me in. Without a doubt that’s the homerun here. It’s just not the lyrics, it’s the subject matter. The album is about Manic Depression, a disorder that affects 5.7 million adults in America. The first six songs are about being manic and the last six are about the depressive part. So yeah this album is very easy to relate to, if you sit down and listen to the lyrics. I cannot count the times I have listened to this album on repeat. And every time I hear something new. I hear something that gives me hope. Something that helps me to keep going. I feel that we all need that from time to time.
The first song on the album is “Stay Lit” and I cannot think of a better song to start this album. It’s a banger and it gets you going right off the bat. And it keeps you at that high for the duration of the song. It also is a good introduction to easycore for you peeps that haven’t listened to the genre. For the first few months “Jurassic Park After Dark” was my favorite song on the album, but that was mainly due to the guest vocals from Trey Sexton, vocalist of MIA band Kid Liberty. Easily one of this guy’s favorite easycore bands. Please come back to us. Also there is a sweet acoustic part in the middle of the song. It adds a little something to the number. Moving on to the second part of the album. The first three songs, along with songs 7, 8, and 9 are the best on the album, at least in my opinion. These are the songs that stick out, the ones that make you think about your life.
“Atlas Resolved” hits home really quick, I’m an honest man, this one has had me in tears. I have not been in the exact position talked about in the song but I have had to let someone go because I knew it was what was best for them. That was one of the hardest things to do in this life. Next up in the trilogy of pain as I’ve come to call these 3 tracks is “No Words”, my favorite on the album. This track deals with death of a loved one and how hard it is to deal with. My favorite lyrics are also in this song, “I’m going room to room in this empty house but there’s no one here to say, it’s a new day and I’m happy to see you. Good morning, how are you? It’s all going to be okay. Who gives a fuck about yesterday? It’s all in the past, you’d said, you’d say you love me back. I’ve never dealt with death like this and don’t think I can.” Even with what the song is about I find the lyrics above comforting. It reminds me how much we need that positive person in our lives, the one that makes us be the best us we can be. That one person that loves us for us. “Legend of the Bare Knuckle Bronson” is the last of the “3”. This has one of my favorite lines, one that I’ve posted as a Facebook status a lot, “I want to taste the sun, remember how it was when I was young. And if I can’t remember, as far as I’m concerned. If I don’t remember, I can never get burned.” There is something about that line that just sticks out.
The last thing I want to mention is the cover of the CD booklet. It took me awhile to see this but the K in Knockout Kid is a lighthouse. The reason this sticks out is a lighthouse was meant to guide ships at sea, to help them, to guide them. So what Knockout Kid is saying is let them be your lighthouse, let them help you, guide you.
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