“Goodnight sweetheart / there is nothing left to say / things fall apart / hearts are broken every day” whines Adair vocalist Rob Tweedie, and with predictable couplets such as these and an album title like The Destruction of Everything is the Beginning of Something New, it is almost too easy to describe the quintet’s debut full-length as an emo cliché.

Exploration of the album artwork reveals vaguely tragic images of tortured faces and unclasped hands reminiscent of what an illustration of one of Plato’s teachings might resemble. Hidden somewhere in this philosopher’s haven is a photograph of the band, the five deeply frowning, yet highly stylized, members clearly trying a little bit too hard to look intelligent.

What about the music, you ask? Well, the album contains an introduction and a conclusion, titled, of course, “The Destruction of Everything” and “The Beginning of Something New,” respectively, sandwiched around 11 other songs. These 13 tracks come together to form a concept album lamenting the tragedy of love. Tweedie takes on the mantle of male protagonist, pining for love long lost before – remarkably! – reuniting with his lover in the uplifting final track.

Lyrics run the gamut from moderately insightful to painfully empty. “Separate Your Jaw” repeats its meaningless chorus endlessly, advising one to perform said action when the going gets “hard to swallow,” yet failing to extend the allegory to the rest of the lyrics, leaving the whole song as one jumbled mixed metaphor.

“I Buried My Heart in Cosmo Park” contains some slightly more intriguing, if no less cliché, imagery, as Tweedie cries “lock me up in Guantanamo Bay and throw away the key!” before launching into a convoluted verse about walls closing in on him, monsters in the closet and, finally, in a classic bleeding heart moment of emo glory, pleading for his lover to “slit my throat from the inside / I’ll choke on my own blood.”

So is The Destruction of Everything is the Beginning of Something New an emo cliché? Most definitely. But then is that such a crime? The bubblegum – nearly pop-punk – tunes and occasionally intelligent lyrics will appeal to fans of mainstream radio emo; Adair knew exactly what they were trying to do and executed it perfectly. So you know what? Kudos to them.
www.adairmusic.com
www.warconent.com

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Simon Neuwelt-Broder

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 Past Constructive Criticism

Simon posted the following Constructive Criticism: It did not occur to me until well after I had written this review, but as a fan of Refused I am inclined to note that Adair's album title is directly transposed from the lyrics of "The Apollo Program was a Hoax". It hardly affects my opinion of the album; just thought it was worthy of a note.

Julie Xane Indi posted the following Constructive Criticism: Mmm, pretty basic review, but I happen to really enjoy the album despite it's 'predictability'. The lyrics are well-written, and the music is good. Perhaps just as predictable as other bands like Hawthorne Heights? Or Trapt? .. maybe so, but that doesn't mean that they're not a good band.