Ranking Bayside’s 9 Albums

Published in

Nobody Asked My Opinion.

13 min readSep 17, 2024

Bayside emerged from the vibrant punk rock scene of Queens, New York in 2000, bringing with them an earnest blend of emotive punk rock and razor-sharp lyrics. Named after the neighborhood where they formed, the band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Anthony Raneri, bassist Nick Ghanbarian, drummer Chris Guglielmo, and guitarist Jack O’Shea.

The band’s journey hasn’t been without its dramatic twists. In 2005, while touring in support of their self-titled second album, Bayside faced a tragic accident that took the life of their drummer, John “Beatz” Holohan, and left bassist Nick Ghanbarian with serious injuries. This pivotal moment deeply influenced their music and lyrics, leading to the creation of “The Walking Wounded” in 2007. The album not only served as a tribute to their fallen bandmate but also marked a critical and commercial breakthrough, with anthems that resonated with fans facing their own trials.

Over the years, Bayside has built a dedicated fan base through their dynamic live shows and relatable lyrics. Each album they release explores new depths of their signature sound. Their ability to evolve musically while staying true to their punk rock roots is a testament to their endurance in a fickle music industry.

Note: This is a “fresh listen” ranking, meaning I listened to all of these albums for the first time a couple months ago.

9. Cult (2014)

The band’s sixth album (and first on Hopeless Records), is also their most pop-punkiness. While it’s not always straight-up pop-punk, it does indulge in many of the cliches of the genre (for better or worse) — several of which are often found on the Hopeless discography.

As expected by now, Jack provides some excellent guitar riffs and solos throughout the record, a definite highlight of the album. Overall, the record is pretty well produced, if not perhaps a little too overproduced at times.

The primary aspect of the record that places it in the bottom position is that Anthony’s lyrics are kind of underwhelming. He’s proven himself on previous records to have a clear gift for writing, yet many of the album’s lyrics come off sounding like they were lifted from the diary of an angsty teenager — not exactly what you’d expect from a band that’s been going for over a decade.

The album opens on a heavy number, “Big Cheese”, and is followed by a couple more of the record’s better songs, but the middle of the album really falters. “You’re No Match” is a by-the-numbers track with a cringey chorus, while “Pigsty” and “Transitive Property” are mostly skips.

The record comes back a bit with “Stuttering” and “Bear With Me”, the former featuring a clever guitar riff, but is followed by another weak track in “Objectivist On Fire”.

“The Whitest Lie” closes things up nicely as it’s one of the better tracks, but it’s not enough to save the album.

This would be a fine release for a lesser band, but for Bayside, it just falls short with some forgettable tracks and subpar lyricism.

Recommended Tracks: Big Cheese / The Whitest Lie / Stuttering

8. Interrobang (2019)

Nearly twenty years into their career, Bayside returned with their 8th album, produced by the newly in-demand Cameron Webb. Despite being around for quite some time, this album clearly declares that the band is nowhere near slowing down, aptly realized through the album’s title.

With each album Bayside releases, their technicality manages to consistently grow and Interrobang is no exception, featuring some killer riffs by O’Shea as well as stellar work by both Nick and Chris.

Unfortunately, even with the great production, energy, and musicianship, the album still comes up comparatively short. Most of the songs have nice takeaways, like “Trouble” with its Strung Out-sounding intro, or the mid-tempo rocker “Heaven”, but most songs don’t sound fully fleshed out — often coming apart at the chorus.

The opening track is instantly catchy, but runs too long with very little to say. Even on the album’s best tracks, “Bury Me” and closer “White Flag”, there are sections of the songs that just don’t really hit their mark, even if there are some extremely high-octane moments of pure adrenaline.

It is by no means a bad album; it just fails to stick the landing on too many songs to make it rated above the band’s other releases.

Recommended Tracks: Bury Me / White Flag / Tall

7. Killing Time (2011)

Their first post-Victory Records album, Killing Time comes out the gates heavier than anything else the band had yet released — paving the way for the next chapter of Bayside.

“Already Gone” is a killer opener that brings in some heavy and raw energy to help set the stage for a stellar listening experience, featuring some awe-inspiring musicality that perfectly transitions into “Sick, Sick, Sick” — a song that gives Anthony a chance to apply a very memorable vocal delivery to some of the verses.

From there, we’ve got “Mona Lisa”, a sweeter, poppier song that has a great rhythm and would fit perfectly on a Smoking Popes release.

Once the first half of the album finishes, the record hits a bit of a rough patch with a couple of mid-level songs in “Sinking and Swimming On Long Island” and “Seeing Sound”, but luckily the band course corrects right afterward with “The Wrong Way”, another hard-hitting song that further enforces the band’s newer direction.

To mix things up, the band even included a song that is mainly composed of just a piano and Anthony’s vocals (and some horns later on to give it a triumphant ending).

Killing Time is a pretty great album with just a few parts that don’t really hit home but don’t hold the record back much either.

Recommended Tracks: Sick, Sick, Sick / Already Gone / Mona Lisa

6. Vacancy (2016)

An album of separation and coping, Vacancy hits the listener with a gut punch of emotionally impactful lyricism, which finds Anthony often wearing his feelings directly on his sleeves.

Beginning with the clever, yet depressing lyricism of “Two Letters”, the album opens on a particularly strong note, before transitioning to the almost dancey and upbeat “I’ve Been Dead All Day”.

Moving on, the album quickly switches gears with possibly the record’s heaviest track in “Enemy Lines” which leads into the carnivalesque “Not Fair” that manages to squeeze in some well-placed guitar upstrokes.

“The Ghost” is another excellent, upbeat sounding pop-punk track juxtaposed with depressing lyricism. This track, in addition to the catchy “Mary” would both fit easily on a Smoking Popes record.

While the record is undoubtedly solid, there are moments where the songs get into slightly filler territory — take “Pretty Vacant” or the album’s final 2 tracks.

Overall though, this is a pretty great record and a fine addition to the band’s catalog.

Recommended Tracks: Two Letters / The Ghost / Enemy Lines

5. The Walking Wounded (2007)

The Walking Wounded, the first album with Chris Guglielmo, finalized the lineup of the band as of today. This album is also the first where I feel like they were really trying to hone in on their identity and style, while also dealing with a recent tragedy to the band.

Opening on a heavy and catchy riff that suddenly switches to a bit of carnivalesque style (with a tuba and everything), The Walking Wounded is an album of experimentation and expression. The emo-punk found on their self-titled album is still in full force, but it’s a little more playful here even if the subject matter is dark (dealing heavily with the passing of their previous drummer).

The entire album is chock full of gems like “Duality” or “I and I”. To be honest, there really isn’t a weak moment to be found — certainly, no song needs to be chucked, skipped, or even considered as filler — it’s just continuous quality from beginning to end. For better or worse, this was also the last record that dabbled more heavily into the melodramatic.

If there were anything I’d change on the album, it’s that many of the songs run longer than I’d prefer. So, while I wouldn’t remove any tracks, I wouldn’t have minded if most of the tracks had been shortened by 30 seconds to a minute. It would’ve removed the wandering that some of the songs indulge in and provided a bit more focus.

The takeaway is that this is a killer record with many great aspects and definitely a must-listen, especially for those who prefer the heavier side of emo-punk. However, it also doesn’t have any songs that stand out quite as much as the highlights of the remaining four albums.

4. Bayside (2005)

Following up on the band’s explosive debut, comes their self-titled release, an album that sounds surprisingly more like the debut than the debut does — at least from a production standpoint.

I’ll be honest, when I first heard this record, I thought it was clearly their weakest output. With the production level taking a noticeable dip from their debut, it sounded off and I thought it might’ve been collection of earlier demos. Luckily, after giving it several more spins, I began to fall in love with this album (and I suspect that would only increase with more time).

This is undeniably the band’s most “emo” release, as Anthony really lets loose on a lot of the vocals, giving more of himself on some of these songs than I think he has on any other album. The most evident example is on “Devotion and Desire”, a track drenched in feelings and emotion. I would’ve loved it if he could have put this same amount of emotion in other tracks.

Some tracks are good but only transform to great when they hit their addictive choruses — “Existing in a Crisis (Evelyn)” and “Montauk.” The former is a particularly great example of this, as you just keep excitedly waiting for the chorus to come back.

Most of the record is excellent, with other highlights like “Tortures of the Damned” and “Blame It On Bad Luck”. Both tracks are solid emo-punk and don’t really sound quite like anything else in their discography.

I will say, more than any of their other releases, this album depends on my mood (or if I’ve been imbibing). If I’m sober and in fairly good spirits, the songs just don’t have the same impact.

When this album hits, it’s unstoppable, but there are also some issues. For example, the opening track, “Hello Shitty,” is the weakest intro song of any of their albums (even if it is short). “They Looked Like Strong Hands” has some potential and good parts to it, but overall, it’s just a bit too sloppy and boring.

The acoustic track, “Don’t Call Me Peanut”, would’ve been a nice change in sound for the album, but it runs about twice as long as needed and starts to really drag in that second half.

Still, if you want some excellent emo-punk, this album contains some terrific moments as well as a couple of the band’s best songs.

Recommended Tracks: Devotion and Desire / Existing in a Crisis (Evelyn) / Montauk

3. There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive (2024)

It’s a tricky task to continue writing new music for more than two decades that not only entertains your fans but also pushes your capabilities as a songwriter. I believe that There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive managed to do both successfully.

This is an undeniably immense and theatrical album, demanding the utmost musical skills from the band’s members, particularly from Jack and Chris. There’s some insane playing here that takes the band into metalcore territory without quite ostracizing the group’s fanbase.

One thing I don’t think you can deny about the record is that it’s the most fun album the band has yet released. It’s a thrilling juggernaut, and you can tell the members are just having a blast playing these songs.

Now, this heavy, metal-esque, big-sounding record certainly won’t be for everyone as it’s quite a leap away from their earlier, more reserved days, but it’s hard not to love the spectacular energy surging throughout this thing.

Thematically, the album mingles with hell and demons (such as “The Devils”, “Go To Hell”, and “How To Ruin Everything (Patience)”), but overall it’s still the Bayside you know and love.

If you desire some of the more straightforward pop-punk that Bayside handles so well, “Good Advice” and “Say So Long” have you covered (the latter sounding musically like it could be a later-era Bad Religion song).

“How To Ruin Everything” features Ice Nine Kills on it and it’s got to be the most metal-sounding song they’ve ever released — and it’s immensely fun. “Strangest Faces” also manages to go huge and epic while sounding unlike anything else the band has put out.

I know some people are soured on the fact that half of these songs had already been released earlier on EPs, but they really shouldn’t be because the end result is just too much fun. The band just decided on a longer release cycle.

Admittedly, the energy and joy does flicker out a bit on the last 3 songs, but it’s not enough to detract from the absolute blast you should be having.

Recommended Tracks: How To Ruin Everything (Patience) / The Devils / Good Advice

2. Sirens and Condolences (2004)

I always find it amazing when a band can avoid the debut struggles that come with inexperience and release a truly solid album, something that Bayside most certainly managed to do here. Then again, most bands don’t get to have a master like J. Robbins produce their debut.

Oddly enough, I’d say that Sirens and Condolences is perhaps the band’s most measured and concise release. All the tracks on this album sound like they were heavily workshopped before bringing them to the studio. This, in turn, gives the album an incredibly mature tone despite the members being barely 20 at the time of recording.

Although the whole album is excellent, the first half is undeniably the best — from the fantastic opener “Masterpiece” to the fast and heavy “Alcohol and Alter Boys”. Each of the first 5 tracks has something to offer, like the insanely addictive chorus on “Talking of Michelangelo.”

The record does stagger a bit at the midpoint with the overly long “A Synonym For Acquiesce”, a track where you really feel all 5 sluggish minutes, or “How To Fix Everything” which is a fine song, but perhaps not so memorable.

Luckily, the record picks back up with “Kellum” and then closes out with 2 more excellent songs in “Just Enough To Love You” and “Guardrail”.

I can confidently say that this is one of the most experienced-sounding debut records I’ve ever heard, and it immediately made me invested in the band.

1. Shudder (2008)

Shudder is such an excellent album and it’s so unassuming its greatness. It’s not unabashedly passionate like the self-titled album, it’s not as measured or calculated as Sirens and Condolences, and it’s certainly not as musically technical or ambitious as There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive. What it is, is 45 perfectly put together minutes of music.

I think what I love so much about Shudder, and what has been a factor in placing it first, is that it’s incredibly consistent throughout. On all of the other albums, there’s at least 1 song that’s a bit more meh — but on this one, it’s nothing but excellence.

Part of the reason for the record’s quality is that the focus seems to be primarily on melody. These 12 tracks are all rich in melody, whether you’re listening to one of the upbeat tunes like “No One Understands” or “I Think I’ll Be Ok” or more rock-centric tracks like “A Call To Arms” or “Roshambo (Rock, Paper, Scissors)”.

The production is a solid mix of polished without sounding over-produced. Not as rough as their first couple of releases, but also nowhere near as heavily gain-focused as their most recent albums. It’s a very easy on the ears album.

The record does take a little break near the middle with “I Can’t Go On” and “Demons.” Both are solid tracks that offer a slight change from the rest of the album without coming out of left field.

Acoustic-ish closer “Moceanu” comes very close to gimmicky through its spelled-out lyrics, but it somehow works as a fun little outro track that breaks up the style that makes up the rest of the album.

Shudder is a tempered, consistent album full of excellent songs, and as a whole, I believe it represents Bayside better than any of their other albums, even if it perhaps doesn’t include the band’s absolute best songs.