University of San Diego Radio

The Fire is Senses Fail's most intense and introspective album to date

“Is it just me or do you wonder if we were put here just to see / how much heartache we can take without hanging from the tallest tree?” Buddy Nielsen poses this question in the album’s first single, “Saint Anthony,” and will spend the rest of the album making a strong argument for this point, as he screams and sings his way through this intense and personal therapy session titled  The Fire. Buddy has always written songs that are close to him personally, and in the past his honesty has turned into some very good songs. On The Fire, the fourth full album from Senses Fail, he continues to stick to personal songs, but has now gone even further, not just venting his emotions, but beginning a new process in which he explores the reasons why he has those feelings. This self-reflective therapy, in which he is working through his issues, has created a new batch of songs that are not only good, but some of the best songs of his career.

A strong focus of the album seems to be the absence of his father in his life, and you can feel his struggle as he tries to sort out the bitter feelings that have grown within him over the years. The album shows a back and forth battle in which he yearns for a father that has failed him, but at the same time is a father that he wants nothing to do with (“New Year’s Eve,” “Coward,” “Hold On”). Although this may seem like dark subject matter, which could in some cases create a downer of an album, Buddy balances his torment and rage beautifully, screaming verses of anger and then plunging into anthemic choruses with his heart on full display.

Other stops on this journey include Buddy taking a close look at himself, pondering the reasons that he still feels let down by this life, and can find no comfort in love (“The Fire,” “Saint Anthony,” “Lifeboats”). These songs can be more relatable on a basic level, for anybody that has ever felt lonely or let down. The best part of Senses Fail’s music has always been that it provides a certain type of comfort, because the listener knows that there is someone out there that knows exactly how they feel, and that they are not alone in their pain.

The rest of the band balances music with these dark lyrics masterfully, complementing Buddy’s voice with ease. Thrashing guitars over a relentless drumbeat help to give force to Buddy’s righteous anger as he screams, while in the choruses the band lets back just enough so as not to be overbearing, but rather supplement the vocals, giving power to the emotions felt by its singer. All in all, it is Senses Fail’s most well put together album yet, and it seems that the band has finally found it’s perfect sound, a combination of the best elements of its previous three albums. One can only hope that if Buddy ever does start to climb that tallest tree, he will put out a few more albums like this one first.

This past January I was fortunate enough to attend the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, along with about 30 other USD students, including The Vista’s own Ryan Sidhoo and Maggie Klos. I had always assumed that this prestigious event was for the rich and/or famous only. But, much to my surprise, I, a starving, overworked and underpaid college student, was able to purchase a festival pass online. Easy peasy! Once I received my “Guide to Cinematic Rebellion” in the mail, the excitement began to set in.

Oscar's soul travels throughout Tokyo's nightlife in Gaspar Noe's "Enter the Void," which features a score created by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk.

I have always been a fan of weird, slightly uncomfortable yet thought-provoking films, and Sundance tends to serve as an outlet for them. My favorite film that I saw was Enter the Void, a disturbing take on the afterlife from the point of view of an American drug dealer living in Tokyo immediately after he is murdered.
What made this film so incredible was the way in which it was made. Every single scene was from behind the main character, Oscar’s, eyes, and then eventually his soul. It was an innovative way to create this film and it made the subject matter that much more affecting and disturbing. The visuals, colors and sounds (the score was created by Thomas Bangalter) were amazing. The best part of my experience watching this film? Seeing old couples walk out of the theater before the film ended because they couldn’t handle the content.

Adrien Brody harvests marijuana in "HIGH School," whose soundtrack boasts artists like Metric, The Dead Weather and MGMT.

But then there were the not so amazing films, like HIGH School, a stoner comedy starring Adrien Brody and Colin Hanks. I had high hopes for this film, which boasted a plot filled with risk: the two main characters had to get their entire high school high on marijuana in order to avoid expulsion (it makes more sense when you read the full summary in the Sundance feature in the Feb. 11 issue of The Vista). The deciding factor for me when deciding whether or not to see this movie was that Adrien Brody played a rasta’d out drug dealer/lawyer. The film’s storyline didn’t hold up so well, but the film was held together by the soundtrack, which made me realize that any bad movie becomes more bearable with each hip song that’s played in the background.

HIGH School opened up with MGMT’s “Time to Pretend,” which was very fitting for the film’s premise and target audience. Other songs in the film that got me excited include The Dead Weather’s “3 Birds,” Metric’s “Help I’m Alive” and Kid Cudi’s “The Prayer,” which samples Band of Horses’ song “Funeral.”

Robots fall in love in Spike Jonze's "I'm Here," which features the music of Girls and Animal Collective.

Another film with a great soundtrack was Spike Jonze’s short film “I’m Here,” which featured Girls’ “Hellhole Retrace” as background music for a robot party and Animal Collective’s phenomenal “Did You See The Words.” Adrian Grenier’s (of “Entourage” fame) documentary Teenage Paparazzo also succeeded in song choice by featuring my favorite song by The Kills, “U.R.A. Fever,” and Ratatat. Fortunately, these two films were actually good, so the music made the experience that much better.

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams examine how a relationship begins and ends in "Blue Valentine," which features the music of Grizzly Bear.

As far as music goes in the films I didn’t see, I wouldn’t normally be able to tell you if it was good or not because how would I have known? But when it comes to Blue Valentine, which stars Ryan Gosling (check out his band, Dead Man’s Bones) and Michelle Williams, I heard that Grizzly Bear did the entire soundtrack for the film. Needless to say, it’s sure to be incredible.

All in all, Sundance was a great experience
for me because it was film heaven and music heaven at the same time, which is every former A&C editor’s dream come true.