Scary Kids Scaring Kids

Scary Kids Scaring Kids

[3/5]

…Plus some things you didn’t. If you’re a Scary Kids devotee, start swooning now. If you’d rather pluck out your eyebrows with a cheese grater than listen to their moody, apocalyptic anthems, there’s not a chance in hell their sophomore album will persuade you otherwise. In truth, Scary Kids Scaring Kids feels less like a new album than a marathon-length re-creation of the band’s collective record collection. And holy Arizona, it’s comprehensive. Scripted post-hardcore? Check. Peculiar keyboard maneuvers? Present. Ditto for soaring crossover candidates (“Free Again”), Emanuel-esque rippers (“Snake Devil”), a lifeless acoustic number (“Derailed”), a quivering piano ballad (“Watch Me Bleed”) and a strange false ending (“Goes Without Saying”). Both commendable and bloated, it’s nonetheless an earnest effort to capture their idols’ glory through every available avenue. Except, it seems, for silence. (IMMORTAL/RCA) Tristan Staddon