Album Review: Luther - Let's Get You Somewhere Else

Album Rating: B+

The bulk of music being released the past few years can best be described as being emotionally heavy. Some call it depressing, which isn't inaccurate, but it's something that is never a bad thing and is often preferred. It's passion, above all else, that drives this style of music. But what's easy to forget when you primarily listen to emotional/hardcore music is that music is also about having fun. You can still have insightful and honest lyrics, it's just not absolutely necessary to have it coincide with equally emotionally heavy music. Luther's Let's Get You Somewhere Else is just that kind of album, delving into immensely relatable subjects with a punk rock mentality that is about having fun more than anything else.

Let's Get You Somewhere Else is an album that is chock full of high energy, fist-raising punk rock. The majority of the songs are of the same quality as that of The Menzingers, particularly when it comes to tracks like "A Quiet Stretch of Weather." Every now and then they adopt a more upbeat and fun feeling with tracks like "Heavy Money," while still maintaining a lyrical approach that nearly everyone should be able to relate with.

Obviously Luther isn't the first positive punk rock band to emerge, but what makes them stand out above others is the maturity in their writing. Even at their catchiest moments, there is never a sense of it being corny, or even typical. They put a lot of time into this album, and you can really hear it in every song. It may be the most clear on tracks like "The Second Star" and "An American Gothic," where you'll hear them incorporate a slightly darker edge to their sound without disturbing the flow of the album. Each song compliments the other perfectly, leading into the rather heavy-hitting close, "The Farmer and Her Wife," a song that conjures up slight nostalgia for the days when Recover was still together.

What I take the most from Let's Get You Somewhere Else is that it's okay to smile through your troubles. Luther really delves into the same subject matter as so many other emo/hardcore bands out there, just with a far more lighthearted musical direction. It borders on a mentality that encourages us to acknowledge the problems we struggle with, but try and enjoy ourselves in spite of them. And that's an important thing to remember, which is equally easy to forget. Personally, I'm happy to have bands like Luther around to remind me sometimes to try and see the lighter side of things.

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Tracklist
1. The Concrete Sound
2. A Calm
3. Heavy Money
4. The Glory Bees
5. Backyard Fence Appeal
6. The Second Star
7. Rattlesnake
8. A Quiet Stretch of Weather
9. Sunset, Sugar
10. An American Gotchic
11. The Farmer and Her Wife