MY TICKET HOME | Unreal | Album Review

In 2017, there seems to be an overabundance of bands trying different things and morphing into different musicmakers than they were previously. However, there are also plenty of bands out there in the current musical landscape that also attempt to take the fans into a time machine and harken them back to a previous era of music. My Ticket Home has only released three albums in a very short amount of time and it seems as though they fit this description perfectly. Originally one of the massive amount of bands playing in a more aggressive metalcore style, this band is now seemingly among the nu-metal elite with the songs they have put together for their newest disc "Unreal". It's so different from their past work that they're even labeling their sound here as "puke rock". I don't really think that gross name will catch on as an actual music genre, especially since once we begin examining this music we'll see that it's actually more of a combination of the grunge scene from the 1990's and the nu-metal scene from the late 90's and early 2000's. If you were sucked into this band before this album with their metalcore work, you'll probably not like this album at all considering the songs overall are paced better here and don't have the breakdowns or technical riffage that define that genre, but in my opinion, as someone who really started focusing on them with this album, this is some pretty impressive stuff. 

There is a serious "blast from the past" feeling you get immediately as the first track of the album, "Thrush", begins and the styles that the band were blending together for the sessions of this album come into effect. Songs like this one along with "Flypaper", "Hyperreal", and "We All Use", all of which were pre-released to promote the album, really remind you of some of the bands that were around in the early 2000's, the most notable ones for me being bands like Trust Company and Smile Empty Soul, along with some of the bigger names like Chevelle and Deftones. The tracks that you get on this album all have influences from each of those bands, but none of the songs feel like they're just copying or soullessly replicating what those bands did as My Ticket Home has enough of their own interpretations of this sound to keep the listener satisfied with what they're hearing. As the album goes on, you'll run into tons of other great songs like "Cellophane" and "Redline", all of which include excellent riffs and drumlines as well as solid vocals to go along with songs like "Hyperreal", which sounds a bit like "Downfall" by Trust Company, and "Flypaper", which carries a Deftones vibe, even if it doesn't really experiment or write a new rulebook for the genre. Moments like these flow very decently here and are performed and written well enough for the songs to stand out as something worth checking out. 

Now, I will say that some of these songs are a bit too short. This is just a minor complaint as I really can't find anything that really hurts this record, but as this record is completely comprised of tracks ranging from two and a half minutes to three minutes as far as their runtime goes, I would have loved to see one of these songs hit the four minute mark. And also, there are some forgettable tracks on this album like "Joi", "Gasoline Kiss", and the album closer "Visual Snow". But, looking at this record as a complete whole with all thirteen tracks included, it's easy to respect what went into the finished product as it does feel nice to revisit some of the great bands that didn't stick around as long in the alternative metal scene, as well as find out about another promising face in today's world of rock and metal that could really stand for something bigger in the future. My Ticket Home has grown substantially since their debut album, but there's also more room for growth as well considering the material on here is already so good and definitely not music that should be ignored. If you want to take a trip back to the early 2000's, but from the perspective of a band writing music in this day and age, this is the album for you to listen to. For those just simply looking for some solid and well-written material, prepare to accept the music on here with arms wide open because this album is definitely worth seeking out. 

RATING: 8/10 

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.