Bayside’s debut record will surely draw boat-loads of attention (no pun intended). “Sirens and Condolences” is the catchiest record that I have played in months; just think of it as Victory’s response to the Alkaline Trio (with a singer whose voice is so reminiscent of Matt Skiba’s, it is down-right eerie). Though, to tell the truth, I think Bayside has the one-up on everyone’s favorite masochistic rockers. The album opens with one blistering and hard track, “Masterpiece”. While not quite living up to its name, I don’t believe that the record could’ve started much stronger. The catchy lyricism and the odd meter in which
he sings really caught my attention. The next song “Poison in My Veins” is destined to be the band’s first single. I can easily say that it was my favorite track as I still can’t get the back-up vocals to the outro out of my head. Other stand-out tracks include “How to Fix Anything”, “Kellum”, and “Just Enough to Love You” (vocals remind me of Counterfit). The album ends fittingly with a poppy-metal amalgam called Guardrail (I’m thinking of a Bodyjar/Thrice lovechild).

In conclusion, Sirens and Condolences has enough complexity to keep interest, enough pop to hook listeners in, and lyrics that stick to the insides of your cranium.