Australia’s own The Amity Affliction are back with their seventh full length album. The album, titled Everyone Loves …Once You Leave Them was released on February 21st through Pure Noise Records. The album finds the band navigating through some new territory while staying true enough to their unique sound that long term are sure to be pleased as well.

The opening track, “Coffin,” is the perfect intro. A beautifully executed guitar melody kicks the song off followed the slightly muted screams of singer, Joel Birch. Ominous keyboards lead us into the heavier guitar riff which slowly builds up leading us into the follow up track, “All My Friends Are Dead.” The song starts out with Joel Birch belting out the phrase “All my friends are dead!” as the band jumps right into the hardcore punk influenced drum patter that follows. The pre-chorus is especially well crafted. The keyboard and guitar bounce seamlessly off one another creating beautiful texture. The stunning clean vocals on the chorus pair perfectly with the melodic guitars. Next up is “Soak Me in Bleach.” No stranger to bearing his sole lyrically, this track explores some of singer, Joel Birch’s darker territory. The band have long been known to help others heal through their lyrics and this track is no different. Boasting what is arguably the catchiest chorus on the entire album and a stronger presence of dubstep elements, this song is sure to resonate with fans old and new alike.

On the fourth track, “All I Do is Sink,” the band slow things down a bit. This track finds Joel Birch screaming passionately screaming over slower, more melodic guitars. The track is layered with electronic elements that help create the overall melancholic vibe of the song. The band continues this pace on the next track, “Baltimore Rain.” While the song starts out quite heavy, it also has some of the most mainstream accessibility of any track on the album. The chorus is sure to inspire even casual fans to find themselves singing the phrase “smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!” As the next track, “Aloneliness” begins, you may think that you’re listening to American Authors as the song is definitely very pop oriented. It starts out with the type of upbeat melodies that you’d hear on your local top 40 station even incorporating snapping. However, don’t let the danceable music and catchy chanting fool you. Underneath these happy beats are lyrics dealing with embracing loneliness. The dark lyrics and upbeat music are perhaps another way to illustrate the internal battle that many with depression and anxiety experience as they try to make their feelings. While it is a bit of a departure from the band’s traditional sound, this song stands out as one of the most powerful on the album.

 The pick up the tempo with the track “Forever.” This song is packed with different atmospheres and soundscapes and features melodic screaming reminiscent of Zao’s early work coupled with a haunting vocal performance by clean vocalist Ahren Stringer. The back continue to keep us on our toes with the next track, “Just Like Me.” The song starts out with a flute playing an upbeat melody before jumping into the chorus. This melody serves as the foundation of the entire song as we see it revisited in the chorus and next verse with the keyboard and guitar. This is another example of where the band have branched out incorporating more electronic elements and pop oriented hooks with gloomy lyrics. The next track, “Born to Lose” demonstrates how perfectly the tracks are arranged on this album. The album starts very heavy and becomes more melodic and slow paced towards the middle. “Born to Lose” is likely the heaviest track on the album and comes at the point of the album where it is most welcomed. After the verbal beat down that we endured on the last track, we are treated to “Fever Dream,” a ballad that is sure to become a singalong staple at lives shows. The band close out the album much like it started. The song “Catatonia” lives up to its title with its crippling, aggressively screamed vocals. The song also contains one of the most emotionally written and sang choruses in the bands catalog. 

Overall, with this album, The Amity Affliction have delivered some of the best material of their nearly seventeen year career in music. They’ve managed to evolve and demonstrate growth without sacrificing the sound that they’ve built their career on. The release of this album will no doubt lead to the band’s music being exposed to a broader audience. 

I’m Music Magazine Contributing Writer Jason Jarvis