Album Review: Falling In Reverse – Just Like You
2 min read
It’s always been hard to pigeon hole Falling In Reverse. The musical genres that have influenced this band over the years are never ending, with nods to pop, punk, glam rock and metal. Their new album Just Like You is no different, with sounds as equally accessible as they are polarising.
Just Like You is the third studio album from the boys and the first to feature the revolving door of new bass players Max Green (of Escape The Fate) and current rocker Jonathon Wolfe (of The Hollow). Like their previous records, Just Like You balances some serious content with cheeky fun-poking. The best example of the latter is found in Sexy Drug and title track Just Like You, singer Ronnie Radke channeling Fall Our Boy in the vocals and harmonies landing these track firmly in the pop-punk category. On the flip-side, they invoke memories of Limp Bizkit’s harder stuff in tracks like Wait And See with the rap vs metal balance they got so right, but was a surprising find on this record seeing Radke had denounced that sound for their latest project.
But in all the fun there is a more serious side with the record heavy with grief. Losing his brother Anthony in a car crash in 2013 has given Radke the unfortunate avenue to be lyrically open and vulnerable, an opportunity he runs with. God If You’re Above will surely see the stadium crowds on their feet, while the piano driven Brother is the most emotive and honest account the band has delivered in a long time.
Just Like You offers no assistance in pigeon holing Falling In Reverse or categorising them definitively into one genre, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Radke’s description of sounding like “Norma Jean or Underoath with Katy Perry choruses” holds true on Just Like You, a record that will make their fans from all favourite genres happy. Emotive, accessible and fun, Just Like You is an awesome addition to their discography. Now if they can keep a bass player around, they’ll really be on their way.
