My first thought on hearing this band? …Weird voice. Interesting, but weird. My brother's response? "Girls growling doesn't sound right."
Nonetheless, this was Flyleaf's debut single as Flyleaf (they went through a few name changes while independent), and it does well demonstrate the band.
Overall, Flyleaf has dark themes, yes, as are commonly popular, nowadays. But they don't leave the narrator (or listeners) wallowing. They are Christian! Not only do they explore the dark and gritty, but hope is included in the darkness. The narrator is "so sick, infected with where [she] live[s]." But she's not content to stay there till she can "sell out [or] die out"—she wants to "live without this empty bliss, selfishness."
Moreover, the lyrics are clean, as well. My complaint is the lyrics seem more together associatively rather than as a coherent expression of their point. (And there's the grammatical problem of using to heed as if it's an intransitive verb, but hey, I'm a grammar nutcase.)
The music is the very dark, low base type that I know a lot of older adults don't like (and worries some of them). The music is very limited, but that's part of its appeal. (Evidently it's post-grunge.) Any more would be overdone, particularly considering Lacey Mosley's voice.
Lacey Mosley's voice is odd. I have no better way to describe it, but it does work well with the heavy metal she's chosen to produce. It may just be a matter of what she's done with it; I suspect her voice would sound more "normal" in a different range. She sings and she screams.
Um, yeah, about that screaming… It's at the beginning when she's saying she will "break, break", with a little more at the end. I don't particularly like screaming, but at least Flyleaf doesn't seem to throw it in there for the heck of it. It's chosen on purpose.
Also as a warning, the words tend to have odd tempos, making it a bit harder to understand what's being said, but once used to it, it can be followed. Somewhat.
Sure, I'll listen to more Flyleaf. I'd rather look to see if there's another song I might like more, though.
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 8/10
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