A Celebration of an Ending couldn’t be a more fitting title for San Diego quartet Before Tomorrow’s Victory Records debut. Riding on the ragged coat-tails of the post-hardcore movement, the band’s penchant for inappropriately drawn-out guitar clutter and the singeing vocals of Victor Fuentes burn any chance of success. Fuentes’ voice is smeared over the band’s confused sound, creating a virtual tug-of-war over which way the album should go. Fuentes seems to think he’s Davey Havoc; the other guys in the band just want to jam out.
The extent of the Before Today’s mellow creepiness comes to a head on the album’s last track, “Color Your World.” This is where the band just loses it. As the drippy guitar sounds swing out into their pseudo jam-like state, the sound of bongos, (yes, I said BONGOS), floats in from a distance. Nothing could signal the long, over-due end of suburban-saccharined post-hardcore quite like the sweet sounds of some bongos.
And why does every song from this genre have to be about black hearts, thin veils, and shallow souls? Everything about Before Today’s sound is played-out, misunderstood, and outright awful. From the opening track “Sight to Frame” until the last amusing mess that is track 10, I wanted to laugh at the perplexity of the situation. The quiet, inappropriate build-ups combined with Lag-Wagon-esque vocals and New Found Glory undertones possibly made A Celebration of an Ending the funniest album of the year.
