Without dissuading you, Say Anything’s self titled album isn’t at all what you’d expect. If you’re anything like a lot of people, their long anticipated release is going to be lacking something. If you’re anything like me and your personal favorites fall along the lines of ‘Walk Through Hell’, ‘Into the Night’, ‘I Want to Know Your Plans’ and the almost purely awful ‘All Choked Up’, then you’re probably going to want to see something similar to those on this album. No… sorry, there’s no room for that here. See, if it weren’t for vocalist, Max Bemis’, crude and witty lyricism and gruff vocals, I would have assumed that this album was Cash Cash’s sophomore attempt. Say Anything is no Menorah/Majora nor is it even close to …Is a Real Boy.  Hell, it doesn’t even compare to the arguably disappointing In Defense of the Genre. Truth be told, whether or not you like this album will depend entirely on what kind of person you are. My inner angst-filled teenager that I’ve so long suppressed is raging.

The first track to stand out on this album is the band’s blatant single, ‘Hate Everyone’.  If there’s anything that singer/songwriter, Bemis, deserves hats off for are his continually inventive lyrics. ‘Hate Everyone’ is that first slap in the face that the lyrics of Say Anything give you. See, Max Bemis has grouped you all together and displayed exactly how little he thinks of you, though subtly and subliminally. That’s alright though, because from him, you’re used to it.  Following is ‘Do Better’, which, if judged solely by the instrumentals you would think belonged on the soundtrack for a Sims video game. However, there’s a spark in this song that jumped out at me almost immediately. Apart from the bland and unoriginal chorus, the lyrics to this song are facetious and entertaining. If you happen to be a fan of the show, then you’ll get a good laugh out of the opening lines “Life is not… an episode of Will and Grace, controversial yet mundane, Debra’s messing with your brain”.  ‘Less Cute’ sounds like a rock-infused bonus track for Chicago. In ‘Mara and Me’,  about a minute into the song I could have sworn Sum 41 was playing instead of Say Anything, Max openly bashes Kings of Leon for singing songs about girls while there are “babies with guns beheading their friends…”. The irony is… aren’t most Say Anything songs written about some girl who broke his heart or left him for dead? I smell hypocrisy. The song that deserves the most criticism would most likely be ‘Crush’d’, a sappy ode to current wife, Sherri Dupree. When first released acoustically for Spin magazine, I had incredibly high expectations for this song. Max had warned that it sounded like a Timbaland-produced-song on the album but I didn’t think he was so serious. In fact, I doubt even Timbaland would produce such a terrible song.  ‘Cemetary’ is the closest Say Anything comes to the old material. While it isn’t that raw, gritting-your-teeth type of song that reminds you of ‘Ants In My Pants’ ,it’s still unsettling, in a good way. The eleventh track on this LP, ‘Death for My Birthday’, is unfortunately the last track to stand out even a little bit, for good or bad reasons. The song is cute, in a sick and twisted way of course. It has that disturbing, wry quality that so many people love. The last two songs are bland, perhaps not lyrically, but instrumentally.

Say Anything is not a horrific album, nor is it a wonderful album. After my first full listen, I was disappointed, maybe a little sickened too. Towards the end of my second listen, it had grown on me as I picked up little points here and there that reminded me why I loved this band to begin with. For anyone hoping to finally have that album that would replace …Is A Real Boy, you haven’t found it here. To those of you still hung up on anything prior to Baseball, you might actually hate this album. However, to all of you that can see past that and appreciate this band for what they’ve become, you’ll probably enjoy yourself. See, this album is a growth, certainly. Whether for better or for worse is left entirely up to your interpretation, but remember no one’s forcing you to listen. Being comical, upsetting, bland and… different, Say Anything is bound to have both its high and low points for each listener. If you can take even one thing from this album and say it means something to you, then it’s served its purpose.

Review by Clarisse Hansard