Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area is the pop-punk band Set Your Goals. Started in 2004, the six-piece has been touring nonstop, most notably playing at this year’s Warped Tour. Yet somehow through playing shows all over the country, they have managed to take the time out to record a new album. Burning At Both Ends, their third full-length CD, was released on June 27.
The album gets underway with “Cure For Apathy,” a short, hard-hitting track. One of the better songs on the disc, “Start The Reactor” follows. It contains a very catchy chorus as well as emotional lyrics that are sung flawlessly by vocalists Jordan Brown and Matt Wilson. The electric guitars come out and play on “Certain,” the first single off the album, and “Happy New Year,” another impressive tune.
The sixth listing, “Trenches,” has to be the best song on the album. The first half of it is upbeat as Jordan and Matt battle each other while the second half of the song is extremely melodic, delivering an amazing guitar solo. Describing how you can’t really push a family member away is “Unconditional.” “Product Of The 80’s” is quite the humorous track as it makes references to popular songs, shows and movies during the decade such as Madonna’s “Like A Virgin,” Saved By The Bell and even The Goonies. The 13-track disc closes with “Not As Bad.” It’s nearly 19 minutes long, though 15 minutes of it are blank and you have to go to the 18th minute to hear the hidden track.
While I’m not typically a fan of pop-punk, this album really is exciting. If you’re a fan of the genre, you should definitely pick this one up.
In A Word: Surprising
