ADTR Album an Acquired Taste

A Day to Remember’s newest album “What Separates Me From You” came out on the 10th of November of last year. I had not sat down and legitimately listened to this album until recently, and I’m rather glad I did.

Upon listening to the opening track “Sticks & Bricks,” one would think that this album is going to be a really heavy affair reminiscent of the band’s earlier material on “For Those Who Have Heart” or even their previous album “Homesick,” but that is not the case. While songs like “2nd Sucks,” “You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic,” and “Sticks and Bricks” may be some of the heaviest songs that the band has ever written, “What Separates Me From You” is a softer record than A Day to Remember’s earlier works. And, for the style of music they play, this album suits them very well. The only songs that sound a little too poppy would have to be “All Signs Point to Lauderdale” and “This Is the House that Doubt Built.”

This album is definitely a “grower,” so to speak, which is probably the reason I never really gave it a fair listen. If you are a person who enjoys ADTR’s heavier side, this one may take even longer to grow on you, if it ever does at all. When I first listened to the album the day it came out, I couldn’t make it the whole way through. It just sounded so mainstream and uninspired to me. But after casually listening to it for a few months, it began to grow on me. I finally stopped wanting it to be the heavy ADTR record that it wasn’t and just took it for what it was, a  fun pop/rock album.

Overall, “What Separates Me From You” is not as musically accomplished as ADTR’s previous albums, but what it lacks in musicianship and heaviness it more than makes up for in diversity and commercial appeal. This album has something for every kind of A Day to Remember fan out there. ADTR has once again proven why they are the masters of the pop/rock genre.