To Love Again by Better Anyway

Welcome/welcome back to the blog! I’m sorry for my absence, I’ve been recovering from my car accident I had at the end of March. If you follow me on socials, you might have seen about it. But, nevertheless, I am back. And what better way to kick start my return to the blog, than by talking about our wonderful friends in Better Anyway and their debut album, To Love Again. So, let’s quit the waffling and let’s talk about this album. 

To Love Again features the singles More Than A Memory, Detriment, and the title track that was released a few days before release, To Love Again. The album features 9 tracks, and has a listening time of just under 30 minutes. So, for people like myself, this album could be the soundtrack of your daily commute, which I, personally, love that.

I went into this album having high expectations, because, let’s be realistic, I typically love everything that Better Anyway release, and judging by the singles alone, I knew I was going to enjoy this album. Better Anyway, are one of my favourite bands I’ve come to know through doing the blog, and I typically put them up there on the same pedestal that I put our other, ever so lovely friends, in Protect Your Heart. And that, isn’t because of personal reasons (even though, on a personal level, both bands are incredibly lovely, I have an amazing bond with them that isn’t just centred on the blog, and I can call them all mates), it’s because, they genuinely just continue to exceed expectations. They constantly just get better and better. Every release, they blow my mind that little bit more, and just prove how worthy they are of more love and support, and how they deserve to have far more listeners than they have. Truly, bands like Better Anyway and Protect Your Heart, are bands that remind me why I love small bands so much. They just have so much talent, and so little recognition. And genuinely, I would sell my soul for those bands. If I had the funds, I’d go to their gigs. Believe me, if I could, I’d be there. And, that says a lot, because there are not many bands I would travel to a different continent to see. 

The album opens with If I Could Learn, which is a short and sweet track, but still very much packs a punch. There’s some nice little more rough backing vocals on this track, and I genuinely, just love the whole anthemic sound of this track. It’s got a vibe to it, that reminds me of tracks from much larger bands, ones that dominate the scene. This is such a strong opening track, and anybody who has read any of my other album reviews, knows I aways state that opening and closing tracks need to be strong, as that’s your first and last impression of an album. So, for me, if those tracks are weak, and mid tier at best, then I’m not going to love the album, because there’s a lot of albums out there where the subpar tracks are on the back end of the album, and it just leaves a dissatisfaction with myself (and I assume, others) as the listener, that my final impressions are weak. So, I am glad this album starts on a strong point.

Next comes the ever so wonderful track More Than A Memory featuring Jason Lancaster (Go Radio and former member of Mayday Parade). I did a full review of this track and I can safely tell you that I love it even more now, than I did when it was first released. There’s just something about this track that hits the spot for me, and I love the guest vocals from Jason Lancaster, because a lot of people will know, I love Mayday and Go Radio, so this track was everything I could have hoped it would be and more. 

Now comes, Detriment. The first track to be released as a single from this album. And this, again, I’m fairly certain I did a full review of. And, it’s insane. Such a phenomenal track, and this made me fall back in love with Better Anyway all over again when it released. This track really cemented it in my mind, that Better Anyway are one of the best small bands out there. As I say, I’m happy to put them on the same pedestal that I place Protect Your Heart on, because, the talent is just insane. Such insane amounts of talent for a band that gets very little recognition. Detriment I think, is my favourite single off of the album, and it’s just got such a great vibe to it, and I just love the whole track, truly, could never get sick of this track. 

Where You Are also has a feature in the form of Ryan Clay (Callahan). And, as much as More Than a Memory slapped, this track is just something else. The bridge on this track just gives me that juicy serotonin, and I genuinely cannot comprehend just how insane this track is. My expectations for this track have been well and truly exceeded, and I’m well and truly at a loss for words in regards to how much I am in love with this track. This has a similar feel to Detriment, but it’s even better. There’s some extra spice on this track, and I don’t know what it is, but everything on this track just sounds like pure perfection, and hits the spot for me. It’s insane, and I genuinely cannot even tell you what my favourite part of the track is, because I just love It all, and it has some nice little tempo changes as well, which everyone knows, I am the biggest sucker for a good tempo change. Genuinely, I wish I could make everyone experience this track, because it’s next level. 

Up next is Forget Me Now, and this is another short and sweet track which has a listening time of under 2 minutes. This track very much serves a purpose on the track, and if you listen to the album, I’m sure you’ll understand why. Like, yes, it is a slower tempo and more subdued, but it serves a purpose, and I do quite like it. This is one of those tracks, that makes it seem like the rest of the album is going to follow the same tempo, and be a lot lighter, but this is Better Anyway we’re talking about, so, we almost know by default to expect this to just be the token slower track, but when I say this is a slow track, I do not mean for one second that this is a soft, acoustic sounding track. It’s not, it’s just got a slower tempo, and is a lot more toned down in comparison to the previous tracks. 

Track six comes in the form of How I’ve Been, which prove my previous point, that the album is not throwing us a curveball from the classic Better Anyway sound that we all know and adore. Because, holy shit, How I’ve Been, is another incredible track. I love the vocals on this track, and how they complement the instrumental aspects of the track. I genuinely, have 0 complaints about this track, and in all honesty, about this album in general. This is another track that really does pack a punch, and you just install want to lose your shit to this. This is a track I know I will have on heavy rotation, and that I will be jamming out to in the car on my daily commute and road trips. Because, genuinely, I don’t know what the boys put in this track, but whatever they did, it’s insane. To say, a lot of the tracks on this album have won me away, this one is definitely a stand out track for me, and the lyrics to this, just do something for me. And, they bring out some emotions in me, and I, like many others, love when music makes me feel something. This track, is genuinely, insane, and if you’re just looking for a couple tracks to listen to off the album to see if you like it, make this one of them. It’s got the classic sound, it’s loud, it’s punchy. It’s powerful, there some nice little rough backing vocals on the track, and I genuinely, just really enjoy this track. 

We’re nearing the end now, with track 7 coming in the form of I Don’t Even Know Why, which I knew just from the title I was going to adore. And boy, they did not disappoint with this track. It’s got a slightly quicker tempo to it, and it’s just such a bop. Possibly, my favourite track on the entire album, I just cannot explain how insane this track is. Lyrically, a masterpiece, a mood. The biggest vibe, and if future me, wants a Better Anyway tattoo (anyone that knows me, knows this probably isn’t far fetched), this track could be one to take inspiration from. I know for a fact, this track is going to be hard to beat for me, because, similar to the way Embers by Protect Your Heart had (and still has) a chokehold on me, because upon release, it’s like it spoke to me on a personal level, due to my mental state at the time, that’s the exact same thing with this one. I cannot explain just how it makes me feel, feeling a song reflect my current mental state, but I’m here for it, and I know for a fact, this track will have a chokehold on me. So, I guess, what I’m saying is, I will not be accepting any I Don’t Even Know Why slander. There’s just something spectacular about this track, and I don’t know if it’s the Real Friends vibe to the track, but whatever it is, I’m here for it. Please, give this track a spin if you haven’t already. 

The penultimate track comes in the form of Wherever I Go, which has a slower tempo compared to the previous track, but it is in way a slow track. This, is giving me blink-182 vibes, but, I mean Matt Skiba era blink. However, I’m here for that sound with Better Anyway, just wasn’t mine, and a lot of others favourite era of blink. However, this track just has such a good vibe to it, and I love the lyrics to this track again. However, can I dedicate the line “I’ll always keep you with me, wherever I go” to my dog? Because, her fur follows me everywhere. However, on a more serious note, this is another great track. The drums are at the forefront of this track, however, not to the point where they overpower the vocals. And, genuinely, I’m here for this track. Is it my favourite? No, but it’s still a damn good track, and that’s 8 tracks in a row, that I’ve been impressed with, which means, the final impression, the decision maker, the make or break, depends on the title track, the last single from the album, To Love Again. 

From the first few seconds of To Love Again, you know this is not going to be a flop. You know, this is a damn good track. I didn’t do a review of this as a single, because it came out just a few days before the full album dropped, so I’ve saved my thoughts for this post. I love this track, and this is up there with I Don’t Even Know Why, as one of my favourite tracks on the album. It’s just such a surreal track. This track is giving me, Four Year Strong vibes, and again, I’m here for that, because FYS are one of my favourite bands. I love this track so much, it’s got some nice little tempo changes, and I swear, the boys put something in this track, because it’s infectious. It’s catchy, it’s an anthem, it’s loud, it packs a punch, and it’s relatable. I’m glad this was the closing track of the album, as when you listen to the album, track by track, taking in the context of the songs, listening to the lyrics, and the sound, it makes sense. This is another track, that I know for a fact is going to be in heavy rotation for the foreseeable future, because seriously, such a surreal track. Such a surreal track in general, but a solid closing track. 

I think it’s safe to say that, I absolutely adore this album. To Love Again, is a solid album. It packs a punch, it hits the spot. It leaves a great impression, and this is one of the best debut albums I’ve heard. And, when I say that, I don’t just mean from small bands, I mean out of all the debut albums I’ve heard, this is one of the strongest. Genuinely, I think this might be the one to beat for Album of The Year and we’re only in May. There’s still more than half the year to go until the lemon awards, but, this album, is a strong contender, and as it stands, I think this could be the one to beat. 

If you haven’t already checked this album out, then you need to. I cannot stress enough just how insane this album is, and I just want to say how proud I am of our lovely pals in Better Anyway, they’ve killed it with this one. Well and truly hit the ball out of the park, exceeded all expectations. Blew me away with this album. I don’t have enough words to describe just how insane this album is, and just how much I love To Love Again, and please, if you haven’t already, go and show this album, and the boys, some very well deserved love and support. Play this album loud, and on repeat. Lose your voice to this album. Cry it out to this album, scream to this album. Feel the vibe of the tracks, feel the lyrics, and express yourself through the experience of listening to this album, because that’s what I’ll be doing. I love this album, and that’s why I’m more than confident giving To Love Again, a solid 5 out of 5 lemons. I’d give it more if I could, there was not one skip on this album. Not one track that left me feeling lacklustre. No bad impressions on this album, and just pure, good music. 

Again, please if you haven’t already, show the boys some love. You’ll be able to find their socials linked below. 

Where To Find Better Anyway:

Spotify 
YouTube
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Apple Music

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