- Look at Basement’s trajectory on either side of their four year hiatus and you could easily make a strong argument about them being two separate bands. Prior to 2009, the Ipswich -no, not that Ipswich- gents would see packed rooms with the crowd surging like a tide pool as they bellowed their emotional vulnerability. Since returning with Further Sky, all hints of flannel, stage dives, and hype have been sidelined in favour of a more measured output. It’s an output that emphasises Basement’s ear for melody and anthemic, sing-a-long choruses. Flashes of this conversion came through in Promise Everything. Spilling additional intrigue, Beside Myself is being released through Fuelled By Ramen, a label for many bands that have followed a similar path. Seeing that caused a lump in my throat: Both Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco are signed to Fuelled By Ramen and neither of those bands have put out a good record since as far back as when I still thought professional wrestling was real. Sure, I sound like an old punk yelling at sell-out-clouds. Crossover success can be achieved but I’m also seriously concernced that what was once the leading light for a much loved stable of bands will be ultimately boiled down to a collection of the lowest common denominating factors.
Even during the days of black and white photos of Basement shows proliferating through social media, their knack for writing choruses that demanded to be yelled back in unison was apparent. This time around, interchange clawing for mic grabs with young kids filming the whole set, and we’re in the same boat. Everything was written around the strength of that. Slowing down these songs, however, have exposed some obvious weaknesses. There is definitely room for crossover success in the balance of generally despondent mood with contagious sing-a-longs but it’s just not something I find awfully interesting. It's seemingly the case with every one of these hardcore affiliated indie rock bands: it all blurs together in a musical non-event. Keepsake, Disconnect, and Be Here Now are standouts and two of the three were singles. Those singles were brilliant pieces of alt-rock. They had me keen to check this out in full. If you came to the whole record looking for much more greatness however, you'd be disappointed.
Changing Lanes brings in the strerotypical “acoustic heartfelt” moment in the middle of the album. It's a moment which neither segues smoothly between the first and second half of the record nor does it feel fleshed out enough due to its minimal run time. The closer sees the band come as close as they dare to AFI in the Decemberunderground era and its stuttering beat stands out, but by this point in the record, its too little too late. Driven by continuous chord-based melodies and progressions, Beside Myself does little outside of its choruses to hold any of my interest. While these grand sections easily get lodged into your head, there is little if any other substance holding my attention.
While I am not a fan of this new direction the English gents have taken, I can see this marking their introduction to a more widespread audience. A strong proprietor of modern, emo-smeared alternative and indie, Basement have been doing this for a while now. Dropping all aggression to write a straightforward alternative rock record will see their sound going over much easier. It's no surprise, just another band following the path worn by Fall Out Boy and Paramore. Going from being the darlings of trend savvy punks to an unashamedly rock band, Beside Myself sees them crossing the line. We all grow up eventually. This is Basement doing just that.
- Matt Lynch.