Timeshares sophomore record, ‘Already Dead’, opens with ‘State Line to State Line’, an emotional banger. We’re greeted with a train announcement, whilst vocalist Mike Natoli pleads over the top “Why can’t you see all that’s missing here? How can I frame all that’s missing here?” before breaking into a riff that will be stuck in your head for days.
What’s immediately apparent with this record is that, despite once again recording in the basement of Natoli’s family home, the band has made a significant step up. The record has a much more mature and heartfelt sound, whilst retaining everything that made ‘Bearable’ such an exciting and energetic debut.
‘Already Dead’ is a heart-on-your-sleeve record, with Natoli exclaiming on ‘Tail Light’ – “At this moment, I strongly believe this is the only place in the whole world where I could be truly happy”. It’s a lyric you can already hear being bellowed loud and drunk by beer soaked, sleep deprived and sun burnt crowds in Gainesville in October. What’s striking about this record is the way they’ve managed to step away and forward from the more traditional gruff punk sound of ‘Bearable’, whilst still absolutely keeping their anchor firmly in those quarters.
Now, I don’t mean this to sound like a criticism, but some of these songs make me think of dad-rock, but the kind of Dad who was cool as fuck and drove you to all of those shows you wanted to go to when you were younger. I guess what I mean is that this is 100% a guitar record. The duelling guitars throughout complement each other in the best way. The album is just full of hits and you’ll find yourself tapping your foot and nodding your head to every song. This is the sort of record that makes you wonder why anyone could not like punk music when gems like this keep appearing.
I’m reminded of Springsteen at times, with hints of Lucero and Hot Water Music thrown in for good measure. The whole album just absolutely screams musicianship. This isn’t just a collection of songs shoved together; this is a process, a collective thought, a common goal. These four guys have clearly worked long and hard to construct something special and meaningful and, shit, did they deliver. Already Dead? They’re just getting started.
CONOR MACKIE