Every Avenue’s third full-length, Bad Habits, is full of power-pop, ballads, classy guitar and bass leads and shows a darker, honest, more mature side to the band. The release opens up with “Tie Me Down,” which begins with spoken words, gunshots and thundering drums that bleed into animated guitars. Piercing guitars set the stage for the loud, rough and brazen, “Whatever Happened To You,” which points out how people change, and not always for the best.
The album takes a turn for the softer side with the third cut, “There For You.” The piano-infused ballad expands into a bright chorus. Hypnotic keys, sultry vocals, electrifying string melodies and march-like drums pick the album up a bit with the intense and slick “No One But You.”
The second half of the release opens up with “Only Place I Call Home,” a ballad fueled with an orchestral beginning, a wailing guitar and tear-inducing vocals, minus the half sung, half mumbled chorus. In contrast to the previous track, “Hit Me Where It Hurts The Most” opens up with hand claps and brings up the feel of the album a bit, which is only to be shot down by the next tune. Beautiful instrumentals and vocal harmonies charge up “I Can’t Not Love You,” a song where the listener can really feel Dave Ryan’s voice. Bad Habits ends on a slightly weak note with “Watch The World,” mainly because “I Can’t Not Love You” outshined the rest of the songs.
In A Word: Powerful
