Set Your Goals - Mutiny!
Mutiny! could very well fall on deaf ears, destined to be enjoyed by only a select few- but in the end, effort and the desire for change count, and Set Your Goals have achieved what so many have failed so miserably at
Image is everything. It’s true. In the age of musical excess there is a great emphasis placed on the histrionic values of an artist and the music they craft. Once the bastion of music’s version of “letting go,” punk/hardcore has in recent years been overshadowed by the bleary-eyed, emotionally self-destructive nature of emo music and its counterparts. Embraced by mass media and more importantly, by a great number of the younger generation, its self-involved mantra has become the mouthpiece of youth- propelling the Hawthorne Heights and Taking Back Sundays of the world into the upper echelon of hypermarketability and magazine cover gloss. It’s at the point where AFI gets four different magazine covers in a given month spun with enough hyperbole to fill a black hole.
But there is hope, and it comes in the form of an all-plundering pirate ship named Set Your Goals. Who, in one fell sweep, conjure up the inspiring notions of optimism and a better future seemingly lost in the flood of mascara, slit wrists, and awful haircuts. Taking cue from their musical namesakes CIV and the early sounds of Saves the Day, New Found Glory, and to some extent, Lifetime, Eulogy’s Set Your Goals have come to, quite frankly, save the day. It’s melodic, accessible, but aggressive and urgent nonetheless. Their modus operandi is pasted clear as day in the title song from their debut full length- the truly exceptional “Mutiny.” It not only makes its case for song of the year, but also manages to capture the feelings of many a jaded listener in just a few lines. From the song’s opening salvo to the crunch line; “conformity has no authority,” it’s a barrage of jabs at what has sadly become the familiar. Culminating with the song’s underlining statement;
“…there's too much business in this / I’m going back to my garage / I have been completely disenchanted.”
The song’s grandiose nature is a far cry from the rest of the album’s makeup however. And it’s a great thing too. It refuses to compromise to what makes a chart topping album, it refuses to be boxed in to a specific mold, and for once, a band isn’t interested in writing a triple-disc ego trip hell-bent on “revolutionizing” the industry. Mutiny’s strong point comes from some of the shorter songs on the album; the opening mission statement “Work in Progress” and the follow-up “We Do It For the Money, Obviously!” are a double hit of melodic/pop goodness that lays a perfect path for the rest of the album. It kicks into high gear with the intro/song combo “Dead Men Tell No Tales” and the aforementioned (did I mention how brilliant this song is?) “Mutiny.” They keep their melodic leanings in high gear on songs like “This Very Moment” and “Flight of the Navigator;” all sounding very crisp and vocally much-improved from their Reset EP. Which initially, was the biggest gripe with the band; their nasal-pitched vocals sounded flat on previous releases.
Set Your Goals are by no means the be-all, end-all of the much-maligned current status of many of their peers. They have all the pop accessibility of NFG, and the kids who like their hardcore on the lighter side of things, will surely find plenty to like. However, while boasting qualities for wider audiences, they are far from being comatose when it comes to striking a chord with the active type. Their New York hardcore influences shine through and while its mixed with some California-type sun, the results are compelling nonetheless. Mutiny! could very well fall on deaf ears, destined to be enjoyed by only a select few- but in the end, effort and the desire for change count, and Set Your Goals have achieved what so many have failed so miserably at; they’ve become important in a sea of unimportance. Who and what they change remains to be seen, but if you go by what they so proudly sing; “heroes have betrayed / we sing for better days,” it’s great to know that at least some of the kids are all right.
(Eulogy Recordings)