by A. L. Boulden
You, Me, and Everyone We Know did a nice job with their short E.P. entitled “Things are Really Weird Right Now.” These guys have a poppy sound that twelve year old girls will fall for but deviates from pop music in terms of lyrics. The pop sound comes from the drummer’s standard pop beat that can be found in songs such as “That Thing You Do” and “Dance with me Tonight” made famous by the movie “That Thing you Do!” The singer sounds like a mix a of Max Bemis from Say Anything and Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy which adds to the pop of the music. The sound becomes dynamic however, through layers of guitars, samples within the songs, and hints of vocal harmonies. With a sense of humor, the band talks about growing older while staying true to the poppy sounds of their previous recordings.
Its always refreshing to hear a band with a sense of humor, especially when that sense of humor comes through on the recordings. Singer Ben Liebsch sings in the first song, “What makes you hot like an oven/ sweatin’ like a barrel of a shotgun pointed at you held by the devil/I wouldn’t call it love/but my heart sure is pumping blood.” The innuendo becomes clear upon some thought and although their previous recordings like “I’m Losing Weight for You” are funny, the band is growing up, and it shows in this E.P.
If we continue to the third song, the band shows concern with lyrics like, “Now I’m twenty six with a head full of hair, I’ll be losing any day.” Liebsch screams the chorus “I just pull the dirt all around me, at least I’m choking on something real this time.” The band continues as they do in many songs with yelling in the background. They cry, “Things are really weird right now!” The chorus shows that the band is changing and they are trying to understand what is happening in their individual lives. It is as if they are crying out for help. Even with an undertone of seriousness, You, Me, and Everyone we Know do not take themselves seriously enough to let their humor fade. The poppy sound allows for the band’s humor to show as well.
The new E.P. itself is crystal clear. The vocals are crisp, the guitars are bright, the bass has a good tone, drums are poppy and the tambourine carries many of the songs to completion. In the first song “There was a Thump, then Another,” the band brings back pseudo doo wop vocals that work only because the band’s sense of humor is clear from the start.
Overall, “Things are Really Weird Right Now” transitions the band thematically from the bubblegum pop of their previous recordings to something more mature. These guys have a lot to say, but they have to be careful because if the music does not mature with the lyrics, much of the content can be overlooked by the audience.
Rating: 6.9/10
