[REVIEW] Set Your Goals – Burning At Both Ends

Set Your Goals‘ new album Burning At Both Ends is hands down 2011’s summer-jam cd.

The first song off of Burning At Both Ends is titled, “Cure For Apathy.” This is the only song that could’ve been the album opener. It delivers a foot-tapping, good-feel vibe in every verse and bridge. The duet of vocals between Matt and Jordan has only strengthened and tightened since their 2009 release, This Will Be The Death Of Us.

Track 2 is called, “Start The Reactor” and continues the summer-jam train. The double bass pedal foot work is particularly catchy. Nice work Mikey Ambrose! This song is over before you know it, so don’t go and split your attention between this song and something else on your computer (cough, Facebook, cough).

“Certain” is up next and man, oh, MAN does this one bump. The lyrics in this song are really insightful and cast a mature veil over this section of the album. I love it. Oh yeah, they made a music video for this song too. You can watch it by clicking here!

Now, time for my favorite part of getting to review records, my favorite songs off of them! “Trenches” has a very Blink 182-esque guitar riff in the chorus and speeds up the record a little bit, as well as experimenting with some guitar feedback at the end.

My other favorite song on Burning At Both Ends is “Exit Summer.” What an awesome song title. The vocal structure in this song is similar to the previous songs. The vocal work has also stepped up dramatically since their last record.

The next song worth noting is called, “Illuminated Youth.” I REALLY like it when bands decide to go ahead and choose song titles that are genuinely interesting. It shows that they haven’t lost their “steam” or drive to put good records that aren’t released because they haven’t had anything put out in a while, whether it is because of label contracts or whatever.

The final song on this album is “Not As Bad.” This song also has that “mature” vibe to it. I can’t put my finger on it exactly but, it puts Set Your Goals in a new light that I rarely see bands in nowadays. This song is three minutes and two seconds long… Wait a minute, never mind. It’s actually 18:49 and that’s because of a bonus track. I won’t ruin it for those who have yet to hear this album but, I will tell you this much. It can be described as a maelstrom of doo-wop, dog barks, guitar chugs, cat meows, the voice of Fat Albert, and techno beats. It definitely makes me want to watch that YouTube video, “Bury Your Dog,” which you can watch here (shameless plug). May God help us all.

The release of Burning At Both Ends was a much-needed for the band. It brought them back from the “fluke” that some diehard fans described their last record. Although it does seem that they have somewhat dissolved their “Mutiny!” sound, I think that it is honestly for the better. Yes, that was probably the band’s peak but, in order for a band to survive and not release same-sounding material, it was a necessary move. Set Your Goals is not dead and, I think the band has a very successful road ahead of them. My only worry is that a fiasco like Eulogy Recordings happens again. These guys have come a long way. Keep up the good work boys!

You can pick up Burning At Both Ends in stores everywhere and online on iTunes.