The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus drop “truth be told” Single

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus have seen a lot of changes in their time in the spotlight. From the different trends that have reshaped the pop-punk and post-hardcore they became known for to the constant chaos occupying the airwaves at 11 every night, 2020’s earth is hardly the same one this band tried to conquer when they got their start some seventeen years ago, but that isn’t stopping them from bringing us consistent hard rock rhythms in their new single “Brace Yourself” the same way they always have. “Brace Yourself” doesn’t attempt to fit into any of the conventional boxes contemporary pop music is often categorized by; instead, this track and its lyric video dig a sharp hook into us and pull, revealing a slew of statements on our modern times that audiences everywhere should relate to.

MORE ON THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS: https://www.theredjumpsuitapparatus.com/

In both the video and the single itself, the guitars feel like the biggest star in “Brace Yourself.” There’s scarcely a moment in which they aren’t the most prominent component in the mix, and although the vocal does plenty to illustrate the narrative through moderate poeticisms, they would be utterly colorless if not skewed by the sizzle these strings are producing around every twist and turn in the song. These kind of riffs are the exact reason why artists like The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are still in business after years of laboring away on the road and in the studio; their type of violent rock revelry never really goes out of style, but instead becomes more in-demand at times when the populace needs to vent.

These vocal harmonies are as crisp as an early spring morning, but it’s worth pointing out that they’re not nearly as sterile and squeaky-clean in tonality as a lot of the other pop-punk-esque content I’ve been reviewing in the last couple of months. One of the biggest problems this band’s contemporaries have faced in 2020 has been bleaching their vocals to the point of sounding so ghostly and glowing that they border on negative transparency, lending no foundation to any of the words that are being sung to us (even in instances that would be considered quite cathartic otherwise). The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus avoid this conundrum entirely by steering clear of the trends and leaving well enough alone behind the board.

Those who like a little extra edge on their post-emo punk need to make a point of checking out what The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus have to say in their new single “Brace Yourself,” as it’s undeniably among the best guitar-focused indie rock tracks I’ve been spinning on repeat this month. “Brace Yourself” might have debuted in April, but it has the feel of a summer song in every department – sonically, cosmetically and compositionally, this is a track that shows its creators letting their hair down while also staying tightly focused on what matters most to their identity. I’ve been following their story for years, but right now, it’s difficult to say what their future will hold as the possibilities continue to grow.

Samuel Pratt