Secrets – Fragile Figures
Review by Steven Paul
Track 1: How We Survive (7.5/10)
“How We Survive” was a super solid opening track. It really sets the tone for the rest of the record. Instrumental wise it was wonderful. In particular, the drums were tight and super on point with the feeling of the song. The vocal melodies along with the guitar melodies with pretty catchy from start to finish. Lyrically nothing really “wowed” me, but the line, “Nothing is set in stone. That’s how we survive,” did get me thinking.
Track 2: Ready For Repair (8/10)
This song was even better than the opener. It’s just all around, a really good song, instrumentally and lyrically. The lyrics seemed a lot stronger and relatable which gave, “Ready For Repair” that extra boost. There definitely was a lot of heart poured out into this one.
Track 3: Forever and Never (6/10)
They kind of lost me on this one. Instrumentally it was softer, which can be good or bad. In this case, I don’t think the energy from the, “Ravage” like lyrics matched the energy of the instruments. The lyrics were kind of plain and have been done before, which didn’t make this one as enjoyable compared to the first two songs.
Track 4: Artist vs Who? (8/10)
Awesome Song! Brutal from start to finish in all aspects. They did a nice job of throwing in clean vocals that suited the song very well. Good use of bells and synth. The strong lyrics definitely cover up the weak ones, which is good. Just a solid overall song. Very pleased with this one!
Track 5: Wasted Youth, Pt. 1 (8.5/10)
Easily the best song of the first five. It was really hard to find a flaw in this one to be completely honest. The instruments really stand out on this track. The change of pace in the instruments is a real treat on this one. Really strong lyrics provided on this track also. This one will hit home for a lot of listeners.
Track 6: The Architect, Pt. 2 (9/10)
Wow. Forget what I said about the last song. This song is brilliant. It’s so complete the whole way through. It literally left me with chills, and lyrically is such a relatable song for how I think a lot of listeners feel when it comes to dealing with certain people in their lives. The instruments complimented the lyrics very well. Such a great song!
Track 7: Maybe Next May (6.5/10)
This song was okay. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. I was a little let down just because of how great the previous two songs were, but as we all know, not every song is going to be a hit. Lyrically it was kind of weak. There wasn’t anything in there that caught my attention too much. Same story for the instruments. A nice jam, but nothing spectacular.
Track 8: Fragile Figures (7.5/10)
I was sort of torn with this song. It had weak spots, but strong spots mixed in throughout the whole song, lyrically and instrumentally. In this case, the good outweighed the bad. Not the best song on the record, but enjoyable for sure.
Track 9: Live Together, Die Alone (7.5/10)
I was happily disappointed with this song. Instrumentally, it’s genius. Real solid guitar work in particular. However, the bland lyrics kind of ruin this track for me. They don’t really stick out at all. The brutality of it however, make it a good listen, especially for kids who love to throw down.
Track 10: Infinite Escape (10/10)
SPECTACULAR SONG! The best on the entire album; HANDS DOWN. Instrumentally it’s an, “in your face” rush. The lyrics are genius and really speak volumes. To me, I feel this is that one song every person needs to have in their life. Arguably the best complete song this band has ever created. It’s amazing.
Track 11: Sleep Well, Darling (8.5/10)
Real strong closer! Normally with acoustic tracks in an album like this, I get irritated because they tend to by whiny. Not the case with this song though. It has strong and creative lyrics and I loved the fact that they didn’t give into the typical pitchy squeals you tend to hear on tracks like this.
Breaking Down Guitars:
The guitars were very consistent throughout the entire record. Secrets are in a scene, where it’s hard to NOT sound like everyone else, but the guitar work was great and gave them that extra boost they needed to make this a more enjoyable album.
Breaking Down Drums:
Drums tend to be that one instrument that kind of makes a band, “stick out” a little more compared to others, and unfortunately, they didn’t bring that much with them. For this record though, they were a great fit. Like I said, they’re in a scene where it’s very difficult to sound different. There was nothing drum wise that I’ve never heard before, but as far as talent and fitting into the record, it was super on point!
Breaking Dow Vocals:
This is easy to write about because the vocals were incredible! Aaron brings a ton to the table. Not a great range, but the brutality behind his screams are so very well structured. He blows Xander out of the water. He reminded me of Ross (Confide) a lot, whose vocals I absolutely love. Rich brings in a nice mix on clean vocals as well. He’s a real solid fit for the style they went with on this album, and the best part about his vocals is he wasn’t pitchy.
OVERALL (8/10)
Overall, this record was very good. A lot better than what I thought I was going to be hearing. They definitely take it up a notch in this record compared to the first one. The “die-hard” Secrets fans will love it. It’s a nice overall album as far as creativity, sound, and effort put in. I’m a fan of the heavy stuff, so my opinion is subjective, obviously. It’s a mix of Confide and Woe Is Me. It was a great record and I enjoyed breaking it down for you guys!
