When screamo meets philosofy: Let it Enfold You — Senses Fail
Let It Enfold You (2004) is the debut album by Post Hardcore emo band Senses Fail, released after their first official promotional material, the EP From the Depths of Dreams, in 2002.
The band’s original lineup, composed of Buddy Nielsen on vocals, Dave Miller and Garrett Zablocki on guitars, Dan Trapp on drums and Mike Glita on bass and backing vocals, is unique and exclusive to this album, something that is even common for a band like Senses Fail in which the members are changed as often as the vocalist (the only one currently remaining) changes his clothes.
In fact, speaking of Buddy, it is worth saying that all the lyrical composition here is his responsibility, which means that the lyrics written directly reflected his personal experiences, feelings and influences. The vocalist currently declares himself a Buddhist and, honestly, I don’t know if he was already a follower at that time, but one thing can be said: the influence of this philosophy and many other aspects was present in Senses Fail’s lyrics from an early age. Furthermore, poetry and literature also appear as elements represented in the songs created and in the conception of the album as another influence. The name Let It Enfold You itself is taken from a poem title by the novelist Charles Bukowski (Let It Enfold You, by Charles Bukowski | Poeticous: poems, essays, and short stories), as is the title of the track “Irony of Dying on Your Birthday” is inspired by a work on the work of a mythologist and writer named Joseph Campbell. And, on top of that, the Slow Dance song is made entirely of excerpts from the Tao Te Ching, a book written between 350 and 250 BC that brings together a set of wise sayings from Eastern philosophy.
As we can observe (and listen), part of the album’s lyrical content is filled with literary and philosophical richness, whether through the lyrics, the track names or even the conception of the album itself. This characteristic begins here and expands even further in the band’s later albums, especially when referring to the most recent releases. However, the lyrics are not restricted to this aspect. Quite the opposite. All of this is part of a set that narrates the fictional and encompasses very diverse themes and cinematographic references (mainly drama, romance and horror) that range from the reconstruction of an episode of CSI (Buried a Lie) to the fight against low self-esteem (Lady in a Blue Dress). In this regard, the album manages to express very well a teenage anger (the vocalist, for example, was 20 years old when the album was released and probably wrote the lyrics even younger) that apparently seems to be without reason, but which, in fact, it’s a mess of confused feelings that turn into meaningless hatred. Just like the cover represents very well: at first glance everything seems to be fine, but inside, where no one can see, everything is exploding. In art, the mirror manages to go beyond human flesh, but also reflects the desperate suffering of the soul.
Depending on how you interpret the lyrics, they can even sound immature or stupid, something that even those who wrote them declared it “cringe” (Senses Fail Interview: Buddy Neilsen Explores Band’s Chaotic Lifespan | Billboard | Billboard — Billboard), mainly by You are Cute When You Scream, BUT that doesn’t cancel out all the incredible songs and melodies on the album. Even in the lyrical content there is still a lot to highlight, such as the creativity of the tracks and the references already mentioned. It’s even cool that the vocalist recognizes what he wrote when he was younger, but even more so is the recognition of the countless qualities of Let it Enfold You.
Well, if the band’s best lyrics aren’t on their debut album, at least we can say that perhaps the best sound is on this album. What you will hear is a Post Hardcore that uses and abuses screamo (to my delight) like no other work by the band, entering both specific moments and complementing the melodic vocal as well as breaking cleaner and slower rhythms. In fact, this rhythm break is very common in almost all of the songs present in a very well executed way. Another MAJOR highlight here is the explosive drums full of fills and, of course, the wonderful and addictive riffs created that usually start the melodies.
Finally, let’s take a brief look at each song on this album:
- Tie Her Down is a narration of a very problematic and toxic love (or not) relationship, similar to that of cult films that people like to romanticize. The highlight is the versatility of the vocals and the rhythm that explodes after the screamo.
- Lady In a Blue Dress is about a woman struggling with her low self-esteem over an outside narration. The drums stay strong throughout the song and the chorus is very good.
- You’re Cute When You Scream is practically a revenge plan for a person who felt used or rejected by the other and then decides to push the other party off the top of a building (unfortunately the song is not a love song for a screamo vocalist). The music’s pauses, very fast, resumed with fills is one of its main qualities, as well as screamo.
- Buried a Lie is a ballad, perhaps the lightest song on the album, which tells the story of a CSI case about a mysterious murder. The clip is inspired by the Scooby Doo style and features the band members being unjustly arrested, but later escaping and solving the case.
- Bite to Break Skin has an absurdly addictive guitar intro followed by a similar riff and accompanied by outstanding drums. In the pre-chorus, the vocal alternates between melodic and screamo, with each one being used in consecutive sections. At the end, there is a transition that ends the song in a very aggressive way. The lyrics are about resisting some kind of pain or angry desire for someone.
- Rum is for drinking, Not for burning is about a naval battle where the survival of the lyrical self depends on winning the war. The clip reflects this situation with an animation that also alternates with excerpts of the band playing. The big highlight here is the guitar looping in the chorus parts.
- Slow Dance, as already mentioned, is composed of philosophical phrases about life that portray the suffering of being trapped inside oneself or an inevitable situation. Its rhythm is very slow, with very punctual screamos and a very melancholic chorus that ends more cleanly.
- Choke on this seems to talk about a relationship in which one party completely loses interest in the other, not caring about anything else. The song doesn’t have any screamo and is one of the weakest.
- NJ falls into the Atlantic is perhaps the worst and most repetitive song on the album. Here the story is told of a protagonist who chases a princess and her queen at 4 am on the 4th of July.
- Let it Enfold You is one of the main highlights of the album, starting with a very good guitar introduction and having a vocal that alternates from screamo to then an angelic part. At the end there is a really cool transition. The lyrics are also one of the best, if not the best, talking about trying to be yourself and getting into the confusion of not knowing how to do it, making the mistake of pretending to be something you don’t want to be.
- Irony of Dying on Your Birthday begins with a metal riff and several screams that remain until the melodic chorus, but later return with screamo sections. It is probably the song that uses this characteristic the most. The lyrics are a reflection on doing something in life that leaves a legacy, whether positive or not, and the lyrical self’s attempt to do something different.
- Angela Baker and My Obsession with Fire has its title as a reference to the protagonist of the horror film Camp Sinister (1983) and the lyrics recount her transformation due to the desire to kill. The drums have a very good tribal feel in some parts and the chorus is addictive.
- Martini Kiss, finally, is also one of the best on the album. The song maintains a rhythm until it explodes in the chorus with a looping riff and the vocal being partly sung and partly screamo, alluding to a phrase left in Kurt Cobain’s suicide note (“Its better to burn out than fade away ” which here becomes Burn Out, not fade away).
In addition to these tracks, the album Deluxe (2005) also features acoustic versions of the biggest hits: Rum is for drinking, Not for burning; Buried a Lie and Lady In a Blue Dress; As well as a cover of Institutionalized, by Suicidal Tendences and an exclusive song: American Death which has a really badass solo (something that no other song on the album has).
Let it Enfold you, more than a business card, shows the work of a band that came to stay (different from its members), even if its sound would change quite abruptly over time. It is with this work that Senses Fail left its mark on music and continues to be one of the band’s best known and most talked about albums to this day.
