genres: alternative rock + post-hardcore
for fans of: Boston Manor, Neck Deep, Bayside
Conditions has written my favorite music. No debate. Unfortunately, they only released two true full lengths in 2010 and 2013, with an inconsistent trickle of new material since. This release, celebrating 10 years since the original Fluorescent Youth album, contains a slightly punchier mix of the album plus two bonus tracks, the previously released “Give It All” and the B-Side “Broken Kingdom”.
From beginning to end, this album is almost flawless. Despite sitting in a comfortable and well-worn genre mashup of edgier flavors of alt-rock and pop-punk, there’s a deceptive variety to the tracks. Other than the mostly acoustic “Comfort Far Away” (and interlude “The Color 21”), none of the tracks stray far stylistically from one another while also sounding entirely unique and instantly recognizable. The album wants to tell a story of the existential struggles facing society through both music and lyrics, in a way that is simultaneously universal in application and intensely personal. From the slow pummeling of opening track “The End of Progression” describing the need and illusions of personal growth, to the comfortable and upbeat riffs of “When It Won’t Save You” finding contentment in a rejection of materialism, to the pensive questioning and recognition of self-sufficiency in “Comfort Far Away”, to the slow builds and cathartic explosions of (original) album closer “Illuminati”, each track contributes to the inward and outward interrogation of the assumptions of modern life.
Adding two songs to end of the original track list works perfectly in the context of this edition being released ten years later. Though both have their origins from the original writing sessions, they lyrically function as retrospective responses to questions raised by the first 11 tracks. “Broken Kingdom” is one of the more musically aggressive songs in Conditions catalog, while “Give It All” polishes the album off in a triumphant manner. Both songs deal with people who have neglected relationships with those close to them to chase “greater” goals. With the former showing the damage such actions can cause, the latter focuses on offering hope for breaking those patterns. In context of the rest of the album, it puts a perfect cap on the idea that even ten years later, the original prescriptions of faith, love, and sacrifice still hold true.
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