Bayside Returns
Bayside
Acoustic
(Victory)
Think losing a band member is hard? Try critiquing the shit.
O.K., that’s an extremely heartless copout. But the deal with Acoustic is removing it from the accident that killed drummer John Holohan.
Giving Bayside’s Anthony Raneri and guitarist Jack O’Shea a free pass based on these horrible circumstances would be a disservice to Holohan’s memory. After all, he’s not being commemorated for his contributions; he’s being removed from Bayside songs entirely. The lone tribute, “Winter,” is a touching ballad indirectly addressing his loss. The rest of Acoustic should serve notice to the rest of the band as to their options. Truthfully, Bayside is a run-of-the-mill pop punk outfit with the backing of the most powerful indie this side of Epitaph.
A collaboration with Smoking Pope Josh Caterer aside, Acoustic draws attention to Bayside’s lyrics, which could stand improvement but actually give the band nuance. “Blame It On Bad Luck” obviously has more gravity, but cuts like “Montauk” and “Parental Reversal” gain traction without being blandly distorted. Nobody’s saying this is their new path, but sometimes it takes tragedy to blow the sand off the least likely directions.
— Steve Forstneger
