Album Review: Senses Fail: “In Your Absence”

Today, Senses Fail are starting their 15-year anniversary tour today alongside Counterparts, Movements and Like Pacific. We also have their new EP, In Your Absence, on repeat. The EP brings 3 new tracks and two favourites from the fans.

Senses Fail, The band that started in 2002 from the depths of New Jersey, are today releasing their new acoustic EP: In Your Absence. With Senses Fail being there from the early 2000’s you can say they as a band have survived a lot, personally and musically.

When music started becoming downloadable on the internet, (Growing trend of piracy) it was the bands and artists that suffered heavily, Senses Fail were no exception. So that, accompanied by personal issues within the band such as mental health and a creeping lawsuit against them for royalties thus adding to financial pressure, it would make more sense to call the band a day and go into other projects. Their senses did not fail them though, and they persevered. On to the material.

The EP opens with Jets to Peru. A refined melodic and atmospheric acoustic track, which most of you have probably already seen the video – Here. A good show of the band retaining their musical qualities although moving in a different musical direction. Still raw and emotional lyrics, still bouncy and still senses fail, just with a 2017 sheen.

As the EP continues we get to see the newer musical direction with the tracks ‘In your absence’ & ‘Death bed’. ‘In your absence’ is a lot softer instrumentally than ‘Jets to Peru’, adding string ensembles and good use of piano melody, also making sure the timbre stays very light for the accompanying vocals. Keeping the deep emotional lyrics touching on the topic of death, really pulling from the heart.

Death bed immediately following this, losing the string ensemble and raising the volume of the piano. Something I noted here was the clarity and balance of the mix allowing the melancholy of the mix to really shine. Using lyrics to explain a personal take on experiences with “life, loss and Death” keeping it all relatable.
As for the acoustic versions I really don’t want to say too much, as I want listeners to listen not knowing what to expect, just as I did. I love them in shortest amount of words, Family tradition being my favourite and a brilliant 2017 rendition of the song.

Overall The EP is brilliant. Creating new material sonically and musically yet still keeping it “Senses Fail”. In my opinion a positive step forward for them. Just wishing there was more to listen to!
The mix is clear and everything comes through brilliantly.

Finally, in addition, I would really like to say thank you. Many bands take a hit and fall apart leaving only remnants of their music behind. You guys have persevered through the hard times and continued to put out new material through all sorts of problems, old and new.
So in wake of your EP I would like to congratulate you on 15 years of being awesome and thank you for sticking around. Wishing you all the best for your 2017 release and upcoming tours.

Jason Moynihan

Tracklist:
01 – Jets To Perú
02 – In Your Absence
03 – Death Bed
04 – Family Tradition
05 – Lost And Found

Tour dates: Upcoming:

Date      Venue                 Location                Tickets

                March 03-                Observatory North Park – San Diego, CA              

                March 04-                Club Red – Mesa, AZ       

                March 06-                Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX              

                March 07-               Mohawk – Austin, TX      

                March 09-                The Orpheum – Tampa, FL           

                March 10-                House of Blues – Orlando, FL      

                March 11-                The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA 

                March 12-                Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC         

                March 14-                The Norva – Norfolk, VA               

                March 15-                Rams Head Live – Baltimore, MD              

                March 18-                Webster Hall – New York, NY      

                March 19-                Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA             

                March 21-                Mr. Smalls Theatre – Millvale, PA              

                March 22-                Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA            

                March 23-                Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ            

                March 24-                Mod Club – Toronto, Canada     

                March 25-                Saint Andrew’s Hall – Detroit, MI              

                March 26-                House of Blues – Cleveland, OH 

                March 28-                Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL               

                March 29-                The Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN              

                March 30-                Granada Theater – Lawrence, KS              

                March 31-                Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO

                April 01-                 The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT               

                April 03-                 Neumos – Seattle, WA   

                April 04-                 Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR          

                April 06-                 Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA  

                April 07-                 Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA