So many things.

A white blank page, and a swelling rage.

I was always in the way, just a longshot (I know your mistakes),

I was never in the clear of that (Does that bother you),

I am lucky just to be a potential (That I found where they stay?),

But I will always make a mess of that (Can I reach you yet?).

I stayed in bed and took so much that I couldn’t even sleep,
I waited so long, though that wasn’t even that bad,
I never had to be a part of the world,
and I’ve been making that a goal for reasons that I cannot explain.

Well, I’m an optimist but only in a perfect world,
I think I’m too stained with all the negativity ,
from all the people in my way.

Would you believe in my songs if I gave them all to you?
I can’t find the strength in my voice to call you back
and say that everything is bad without you and I am lost again,
God believe I’m lost again.

Laid awake in bed, and thought of better times,

I never want to sleep,

Because I found apathy,

In laying down and never waking up.

In anticipation for their upcoming release, War Paint, I started listening to The Dangerous Summer’s most recent release, Reach for the Sun. TDS is a local band (with graduates from Centennial actually) that is signed to Hopeless Records (Yellowcard, Silverstein, There For Tomorrow). When I first purchased Reach for the Sun a few years ago, I gave it a cursory listen, picked a few songs that I liked, and didn’t think much of it. I never thought to try it again simply because TDS is a group that falls victim to a lack of diversity in their songs. The group has a distinct sound (delay on the guitars, a very distinct voice from the vocalist, etc.), but all their songs have similar tempos and riffs. The songs all sound great, but they tend to run together.

They don’t experiment much with tempo, and the songs are structured well, but similarly. In fact, with a few exceptions, I have a hard time distinguishing the tracks on the album sometimes. The real strength of the group however, is the deeply emotional lyrical content that can be found on every single song. It was hard to find just a few examples of AJ’s lyrical prowess, so I selected some of my favorites:

I laid awake in bed, and thought of better times

I never want to sleep, ‘cause I found everything

In laying down and never waking up

-Settle Down

I want to take those steps, I never have

I need to stand up straight, so I can feel your breath

I really feel for once that I can change, it’s really not that bad

I’m learning now that I was wrong in everything,

And that’s the reason that I think that I can grow, It’s really not that bad

It’s in the way you had, it’s in the way you had me all wrapped up

Like I’m a part of something, finally, and I’m never looking back.

-Where I Want To Be

Can I pull out all the stops, and get out of this town?

I want to make you proud, but I really don’t know how

I know it’s not helping to hear me say,

“I wish it was me in the car that day.”

-The Permanent Rain

Despite the fact that the songs suffer from similar sounding effects and rhythms, they’re all put together extremely well (especially the outro of “Where I Want To Be”), and lyrically they all contain things that most in the angst-filled teen age group can relate to on a deep, personal level. I’m expecting great things from War Paint, which drops this Tuesday.

I got half a smile and zero shame

I got a reflection with a different name

I got a brand new blues that I can’t explain

Who did you think I was?

Or is this really what you want to happen? All I wanna do is have this….

Can you really trust your mind?

sleeve.