Album Review: All Get Out—’No Bouquet’
Posted: by The Editor
All Get Out has quietly been one of indie rock’s most impressive acts for about a decade now. Their first LP The Season is something of a cult classic in some circles, and its followup Nobody Likes a Quitter was one of 2016’s most underrated albums. It might not be hard to see why, though—Quitter pared the band’s sound back a little bit, stripping away the grit and bite for a more restrained sound. Both are stellar, though, and it should be no surprise that their latest record, No Bouquet, is just as good.
“Value,” one of the singles, is the album in microcosm; a blend of the band at their heaviest and their hookiest. It’s perhaps the best example of Nathan Hussey’s talent for making a screamed chorus irresistibly catchy. As he yells, “Man, can you believe that we’re here?” it’s the stickiest hook on the album, and maybe in the band’s entire career. But the lessons they learned in Quitter—sometimes a melody can carry just as much feeling as a well-placed shriek—is borne out in the song’s piano-speckled bridge.
“Rose” works like “Value” in reverse, beginning as a funereal ballad before blossoming into a scorching finale. Admittedly, it sets No Bouquet up to be a very different sort of album, as the dissonant guitars give into the bright drumroll of “You’ll Survive.” It’s a classic All Get Out rocker, but a far cry from the dark and dismal record one might expect after the opener. On the contrary, No Bouquet might indeed be the band’s most accessible album. “Value,” again, has a monster hook, and “Self-Repair” boasts two choruses that rank among the band’s best. “However Long” is a pop-rock gem with both a great hook and a great guitar solo—which is All Get Out’s not-so-secret weapon.
While the band has always had capable guitar players, Hussey and Kyle Samuel really stepped it up on No Bouquet, turning in the most memorable riffs in the band’s career. “Value” has a behemoth opening to match its chorus, while “God Damn” might have the most punishing riff they’ve ever written. That isn’t even to mention the earworm of a lick in “Wake,” which also happens to feature Hussey’s best vocal performance to date in its chorus.
It’s a shame that All Get Out’s never gotten the recognition they’ve deserved, but No Bouquet seems like the perfect album to change that. It’s got riffs and hooks aplenty to appeal to radio rock crowds, but it’s still an All Get Out record through-and-through; from the opening creep of “Rose” to the end of “Wake,” when Hussey shouts, “It’s amazing that you knew me.” He’s right, too. It’s been amazing to get to know All Get Out.
Disappointing / Average / Good / Great/ Phenomenal
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Zac Djamoos | @greatwhitebison
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