Breakup Society releases complex album with diverse sound

Alternative rock music means different things for different music fans. To the fan with an older, more classic-rock-oriented taste, it means young high school and college-aged kids jumping up and down while playing power chords to the beat of an overpowering drum set.

These people might never change their minds.

But it won’t take long for someone with an open mind to realize that The Breakup Society is legit. Their sophomore album So Much Unhappiness, So Little Time… presents the listener with tonal diversity from start to finish, and a lyrical complexity one can rarely find in most alternative rock. The quintet of Ed Masley (guitar, vocals), Scott Marceau (guitar, vocals), Pat Singleton (bass), Nick Pasco (drums, vocals) and Joe Golfen (keyboards, vocals) fuse various influences into a thoroughly respectable album by most standards.

The initial and title track, “So Much Unhappiness, So Little Time…,” is best described as an introduction, as it is just over a minute in length. The instrumental work is simple, but Masley’s skill as a lyricist is immediately recognizable. After the line, “Love is all we needed anyway, don’t let the good times slip away,” the song explodes into an ear-splitting guitar riff and ends quickly.

The upbeat introductory track leaves the listener thinking the next song will be simpler — or at least a song not as strikingly slow to develop as “Your Invitation to Quit.” Masley and Marceau’s guitars sound like a foreboding thunder in this song, which is painstakingly slow, especially at the beginning.

“The Upward Spiral” seems to logically follow from the introductory track, following with a more similar sound, but, nevertheless, is track number three. This song exhibits a country influence, carried by an acoustic guitar. It isn’t quite as driving as the preceding two tracks, but manages to inspire some energy in the listener. The electric guitar work — which ends up eventually overpowering the acoustic — on this song is exceptional, as is the high vocal arrangement.

“Another Day in the Life” is a lighthearted, piano-heavy tune that is evidently inspired by The Beatles. The keyboard even sounds similar to the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” at many points. This tune, along with “He’s Supportin’ the War” are the first two songs that Masley has ever written on piano.

“Here Comes Floyd” has that power-chord-heavy, garage-band feel that seasoned rock ‘n’ roll fans typically attribute to alternative rock. This is one of those songs that may remind you of the stuff you played with your old band in high school. Now, you and your friends look back on those days and say, “Gee, we weren’t that good. But man, did we have fun.” This track captures part of that garage-band nostalgia.

“8th Circle of Hell” has a pretty deep theme as represented by its title. However, the distortion-heavy power chords that come in halfway through this song have a certain way of detracting from the theme. Either that, or the song starts off in too light a fashion. But in any case, the band should be more decisive about how they want their songs to sound. It might be beneficial to eliminate some of those sounds that just count as noise.

The ninth track is a waltz called “Mary Shelley.” This might be Masley’s most heartfelt vocal effort on the album. Although Masley’s singing and songwriting is brilliant, the instrumentation lacks, and doesn’t fully develop. The band definitely could have explored the more ominous sound with which it had started on the album.

The album ends with “(She’s) Waiting for the Bubble to Burst” and “She Doesn’t Cross Against the Light.” The first of these tracks is catchy, but short, and doesn’t contain many highlights unlike the rest of the album. But the last track on the album is one of the biggest head bangers. Such a rebellious, rockin’ song by all rights is of course about a rebel chick.

So Much Happiness, So Little Time… is a great second effort from a talented band on the rise. At times it is a bit heavy on the guitar or the drums in the wrong places, but it was still a good depiction of the band’s across-the-board talent. If nothing else, Masley may be the poet laureate of alt rock.