Anarchy, My Dear Definitely Breaks All The Rules

Say Anything, the band that brought you ...Is A Real Boy, In Defense Of The Game, and their self titled album, Say Anything, are back with their new album, Anarchy, My Dear. Many people have mixed feelings about the album and many people make direct comparisons to the album that put them on the map, ... Is A Real Boy. Well, maybe that's why they're conflicted.

The album overall had very solid lyrics, different sounds, and even some references to their previous work. Songs like, "Admit It Again," brought us back to their song, "Admit It!!!" the song that made fun of hipsters before it was cool. "Admit It Again" began with the lyrics, "When I'm dead, I'll rest," taken from the bridge of "Admit It!!!" And both songs singled out the so-called 'hipsters' and their ways to make very memorable songs.

The first single released was "Burn A Miracle" back in December. This song is basically them "coming alive" and saying to, "Burn A Miracle; Burn America." This track was probably was the best choice to release as a single, because it was the closest to their older songs.

The vocalist and main lyricist, Max Bemis, is great at writing songs about himself. We all know that. We all know he's written countless times about his history with drugs and alcohol. "Peace Out," is a nice, almost-folksy song about how he became a stronger person and got over the influence of drugs. And now he can watch the people below him "get high with all of your dumb friends." The lyrics to this song were refreshing. "You hump that pole like a firefighter falling in love." Great analogy. And what makes the song is when he says at the very end, "You were my crutch. Now I've escaped your clutch. So how is that worms eye view? I have grown two broad wings and now I'm above you."

He even wrote about love. The self-titled track, "Say Anything," is Max Bemis confessing his love. What he'd do to keep his love alive. "I'd listen to a piercing squeal on a loop to make things real with you." "Anything for you."

These are all solid tracks. What everyone is saying is, "Well, it's no ...Is A Real Boy." And they're right. It's not. But, this is Say Anything taking a step in the right direction. There were new sounds, even a funky almost hip-hop like vibe from "Overbiter" and slower songs like "the Stephen Hawking." It would have been disappointing if there were a lot of promotion for the album, but with the lack of promotion, this album was a good hidden treasure.