Brave Faces Everyone is third studio album from Spanish Love Songs, a five-piece pop punk/emo outfit from Los Angeles. If you have heard this group before, then you will know exactly what to expect on this release. Loud, desperate, quivering vocals that make it seem like singer Dylan Locum is on the verge of collapse. The sound of depression that is oddly uplifting at times. A never ending reel of passion, emotion, and sensitivity. And of course, the soft and quiet bridges that crescendo into explosive final choruses.
Lyrically crushing, and more relatable than we all want to admit, Brave Faces Everyone is the kind of album I want to recommend to my friends but cannot push myself to do so. “Holy shit dude, are you alright?!?” is more or less what I would expect to here back from them.
Throughout the record Dylan touches on many of the issues plaguing young adults today here in North America. The opioid crisis, rising personal debt, a difficult job market, loneliness, struggles with family and loved ones, to name a few. Many of these were already trending downward at the time of recording and release, but these issues have only been exacerbated since the COVID-19 pandemic began, further enhancing the album’s relatability. Beyond these experiences, there is also the heavy realization that many of us come to eventually: life does not get easier and a life of mediocrity is all we will amount to. While nothing is wrong with the latter point, it can be a heavy pill to swallow for many of us.
The opening track, ‘Routine Pain’, deals with a lack of self confidence and letting the negative consume you. “Let me ruin my guts tonight” Dylan sings during the chorus, as drinking heavily helps him numb the pain of the existence he has found himself in. For some of us, it is in these self-destructive habits that we finally feel or connect something, which is where this song ends on. “I’m feeling lower than anyone else // I wanna see how much lower I can go.”
I could keep going on about all the stories in this album, but do not feel like turning this review into a short essay/diary entry hybrid. Instead, I will just point to just a few more lines from a few different songs that hit me on first listen.
‘Generation Loss’
“We throw a pill down our throats / Or ourselves into the ocean / ‘Cause half our friends are dead / The other half are depressed / In this budget-rate life / The borderline’s looking thin”
‘Losers’
“And my bleak mind / Says it’s cheaper just to die / The prick inside my head’s laid off and / Daring me to try / My bleak mind / Says this is all you get / Hoping all this time, but all you’ll find is / It gets harder, doesn’t it?”
‘Losers, Pt. 2’
“Now I’m just a walking tragic ending / Fuck, I don’t wanna be the last one standing”
A cathartic listen, Brave Faces Everyone is the album that you may not have known that you needed to listen to. Whatever problem you are facing, you probably are not the only one. Life is tough for you. You are destined for mediocrity. You are lonely. These problems you face are real and the comfort in knowing that others like you are out there can make it easier to push on.
Favourite Tracks: Routine Pain, Kick, Beach Front Property, Losers, Losers Pt. 2
Genres: #PopPunk, #Emo, #MidwestEmo
Release Date: February 7, 2020