It’s time to dig deep down and find that last shred of teen angst that you’ve been hiding for the past few years and feed it with the heavy riffs and beats off of Secrets’ new self-titled album. The post-hardcore band from California released the album on Feb. 23, 2018. The lineup of the band is interesting, where there is an unclean vocalist, a rhythm guitarist/clean vocalist, lead guitarist, bassist, and touring drummer.  

The first track on the record, “Sixteen,” holds the post-hardcore sound very well.  It has a heavy main guitar riff with drums pushing the beat and erie synths in the pre-chorus.  The main message of this song is that you don’t have to stay attached to people you don’t want to be around anymore.  In the chorus the vocalist sings, “I’m not holding on, I’m moving on / I’m leaving on my terms / I’m better off on my own / A celebration of separation.”  The song is fueled by angst and hate. This is especially noticeable in the lines “So take, take, take all this hate” and “You’re never gonna see me again.”  Looking at the structure of the song, the chorus and verse have a nice trade-off going from extremely heavy in the verse to “poppy,” higher-pitched vocals in the chorus.

The next song that stands out is “Incredible.”  It has a driving punk beat in the verse accompanied first by some unclean vocals and then by a sweet serenade from the clean singer. The lyrics of the pre-chorus allude to the song being about someone in a relationship talking about how good being with their significant other makes them feel:  “When I’m with you, there’s a freedom / That I know me, and it deepens who we are / Who we are, I feel stronger / That I know you / Had to break myself just to show you / But it feels so, It feels so / Incredible!”  If you’re a fan of heavy breakdowns, check out the bridge section of this song.

The last song that made an impact is “Last Time.”  The content of the lyrics stems from two people in a toxic relationship, where the person singing is the one trying to cut ties from the other person. “Oh my God, I’ve had enough / There’s a devil in your blood / And I’m too tired to be your angel.” The vocalist obviously has some issues with their significant other and is done playing games.  He continues in the chorus, singing, “Hold tight, and brace again for a long night,” alluding to the two of them staying up all night to talk about their relationship. The vocalist ends the song with the lyrics, “This is the last time that I’m gonna deal with it.”  Clearly, this guy has no intentions of getting back with his partner. In terms of the musicality behind the song, it has a steady, pushing guitar riff that makes the song chug along behind the lyrics. Also, when the chorus kicks in, the singer screams the first line, “Hold on!” so as to grab the attention of the listener and draw them into the rest of the chorus.

This album holds a lot of familiar sounds that makes each song enjoyable. It has breakdowns, fast-paced verses, and sing-along choruses that will make many want to get up and start playing air guitar.  I recommend this to anyone who listens to any rock or metal genre.