Album cover courtesy: Amazon.com
I’m Glad It’s You, an eclectic alt-punk group from Redlands, California, released its debut album “The Things I Never Say” with 6131 Records this past Friday. Just two years ago, the band released its debut EP “June” and since then has made giant leaps in its journey towards stardom. After touring constantly and releasing a second EP along the way, we finally see all the band’s hard work paying off in its speaker-blasting debut.
“The Things I Never Say” opens up with a melodic and serene guitar instrumental before breaking out into a sporadic build-up of hammering drums and swelling guitar riffs. “So this is progress” are the first words muttered by lead singer Kelley Bader, and they are a striking statement that rings true for the whole album. One of the album’s main focuses is progressing forward in life, whether it be from the person you once were or moving on from someone in your past.
Another topic the album holds strongly to is nostalgia. Songs like “Communion” and “Curbside” bring about a sense of overpowering nostalgia for high school, the friends and significant others that you don’t speak to anymore and the innocence of being young. “Curbside,” a song which first appeared on the band’s debut EP, sees Bader boasting the words “It was a life that I stole from late nights on curbsides, and I can’t seem to ever get it back.” Lyrics like these, which form such powerful images of buzzing streetlights and childhood memories, litter throughout the entire album and urge one to keep searching for that same nostalgic feeling with each song.
Bader sings with the same nonchalant murmur that is familiar for fans of Joyce Manor, except I’m Glad It’s You could be considered the more mature and orderly sibling of Joyce Manor. This is more evident on “Time Capsule,” the second to last song on the track, which slows the album down and lulls you through an intimate and heartbreaking landscape of sounds accompanied by a dazzling flute-ish synth part. After “Time Capsule” trickles off, the band bursts into one last triumph, the fan favorite, “Daydreams,” before closing the album off.
When you find yourself at the end of the album, when the last note rings out and you’re left with silence, you’ll find yourself searching for just a little more than you were given. That’s the one fault in “The Things I Never Say.” The band keeps the same consistent fervor of a southern California punk band and offers memorable lyrics and catchy tempo changes, but there’s this spark that you find in all of your favorite albums that just doesn’t seem to ever flicker on this release. Nonetheless, the album is one that insists on being listened to and is a fine fit in the 6131 Records lineup, which includes artists such as Julien Baker, Culture Abuse and Dads.
“The Things I Never Say” is an excellent debut from I’m Glad It’s You that showcases just how much the band members have grown since their first release two years ago, and it indicates just how much more they are going to continue to grow. It’s one giant milestone for a band that is just now getting its feet on the ground, and “The Things I Never Say” is more than plenty to hold you over until the band releases its next best thing.
