Anthony Green is a man we’ve got soft spot in our hearts for at Pop-Break.com. Many a writer and photographer on this site adores his music whether it be his solo work or his tenure in Saosin and Circa Survive. He was even gracious enough to conduct an interview with us last year. So when we heard he was dropping a new single from his upcoming solo record we have to send this over to The Singles Party crew for an evaluation.
Lauren Stern: I’ve been waiting for Anthony Green’s new album Young Legs to come around for so long that once “Breakers” hit the web, I literally squealed. I know that’s probably expected coming from one of the biggest Anthony Green fans on this staff, but I just had a good feeling about the tracks off this album from the moment I heard about it last year. I knew it was going to be impeccable and needless to say, my intuition was pretty spot on.
I love “Breakers” for many reasons but for the sake of time, I’ll give away my top two. The first reason has to do with Green’s versatility, which he seems to pull off effortlessly both with Circa and as a solo artist. “Breakers” is so different from any of the tracks we heard from his last release Beautiful Things or from his debut Avalon, which means that the new album as a whole will probably be a much different ballgame. Two, Green has been working with Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter on this record and you can tell. I’m not sure if they worked together on this song in particular but you can tell there’s a big influence here and I love that.
Green always puts out his best effort each and every time and I’m anxiously awaiting the first full listen of Young Legs. I know for a fact that it will live up to my expectations and I can’t wait to fall in love with each and every track as much as I have with “Breakers.” Verdict: Add to Playlist
Nick Porcaro: I kept waiting for this song to go somewhere. Mr. Green and co. are content to gradually build on the same riffs and rhythm for the first half of “Breaker” and, unfortunately, the major chord release that comes around 2:26 just isn’t enough. I’m not sure if it’s the songwriting or the production choices but his band sounds restrained, as if they’re afraid of retreading the road paved by Green’s ferocious early work with Saosin. Where’s the fire, guys? Verdict: one and done
Kelly Gonsalves: When this song started, I had fairly high hopes for it – it vaguely reminded me of a less polished Linkin Park, strange as that sounds (and I’m a huge LP fan). But as it went on, that vague remniscence quickly faded. Aside from an somewhat instrumentally interesting beat, this song has very little going for it. Even though the droned out vocal style has been getting popular these days in a lot of indie rock and alternative music, Anthony Green’s one-pitch-too-high attempt at the style just doesn’t cut it for me, possibly because of what sounds like a bit of under-production. It’s like the poor guy’s producers didn’t get the memo that most artists who take on that monotone mumble use heavy vocal effects to get that trademark, echoey edginess. They left that vocal track a tad too au natural, and it did not sound pretty. And about two and a half minutes in – is that supposed to be a climax? Because I just wasn’t feeling it, and this is the type of song that desperately needs a climax to pull it together. It vaguely reminded me of a shitty hookup. That might be a little too harsh – it really wasn’t that bad, but it also honestly just didn’t do much for me. Verdict: One and Done
Jason Stives: Anthony Green has worn many hats in music ranging from frontman (Saosin, Circa Survive), backing vocalist (Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer) and supporting player (The Sounds of Animals Fighting). His solo work has been touted just as much as all these contributions go but not everything is that ambitious and sadly “Breaker” is far from ambitious. It’s fitting that this track was inspired from an outro on his previous solo record because it just feels like one long outro with its heavy percussion and intense piano key punching. The trouble is the song never picks up and never holds much of a melody and seems to just draw out much longer than it needs to. I have no doubt the rest of Mr. Green’s record will be another solid effort but for now this is a rather empty and lifeless song to premiere your new record with. Verdict: One and Done
Jason Kundrath: There’s no denying Anthony Green’s voice. It’s striking, soaring, and oh-so emo. As the leader of Circa Survive, Green is holding the torch for legions of former mall-punks wistfully holding on to memories of their “deeply misunderstood” youth. For them, every time Green gently wails into a microphone, it’s a magical mix of pain, longing, and the triumph of the human spirit. For this critic, however, “Breakers” – like most of Green’s recorded output – sounds like an overcrowded, swirling mess of monochromatic melodrama… on helium. Verdict: One and done.
Bill Bodkin: Wrong decade, wrong critic. I was never into the emo scene, so winning me over with a track like “Breakers” was going to be a hard sell to begin with. But with all the positive input my staff has given me over the years about AG, I came in with an open mind. I really wish I hadn’t. “Breakers” is a song that sounds like it was recorded a decade ago and had been sitting on the shelves collecting dust until someone came along and polished it up with modern day production. It’s a repetitive and uneventful song that we’ve all heard before and does nothing to impress those of us who couldn’t stomach the emo scene 10 years ago. Verdict: One and done.
Final Verdict: Despite the passionate love of our assignment editor for this piece, the panel does not recommend you add Anthony Green’s latest to your collection.
