Colorful

Stay Focused - "Values"
Label: DIY

Being an Emo/Punk-band from Germany, in a sleepy city like Limburg, is a pro and a con at the same time. So, well... it's mostly a disadvantage, cause it's not like the scene in the German-speaking area is as developed as any scene in the states. The upside about it probably is the fact, that a band from here is totally free to develop their own sound. And I think STAY FOCUSED's sophomore album is a shining example of just that.

The three-piece lays its foundation somewhere in the middle of the Emo-revival-sound of the 2010s and the Pop-Punk-ish Emo of the now. Maybe, it's more fitting to say, that they integrate some twinkly guitar parts in their Pop-Punk-tinged Emo-sound, as this is definitely more in the lines of HOT MULLIGAN and FREE THROW than in the vein of TINY MOVING PARTS or GLOCCA MORRA, though these bands still shine through. On top of it, they toy with some Melodic Hardcore. A few seconds into the opener "Old Wounds" they go into a straight and fast Punk-beat. A band like KOYO isn't too far away for them, either. 

They develop a nice flow in the first half of the record, with "Colourless" being the standout. However, the second half is where it's really at for me. "Cope" (see the excellent video below) is the hit of the album, though it definitely strays away from the first five songs. It's basically a Post-Hardcore-track with some Alt-Rock-elements that could best be described as "FINCH meet HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS". Nice move with that abrupt but very elegant ending of the track, instead of doing the expected, dishing out the chorus for one more time in a way-over-the-top-dramatic-kind-of-way. They kinda stick to their shift with the next track "Nothing anymore", with harsher guitars, that Alt-Rock-vibe and even screaming on top of it. "Blame me now" is another very cool and distinctive track that blends Post-Hardcore-drama with Alt-Rock-grandeur. Like FINCH listened to MUSE while recording "Say Hello to Sunshine". Just as I realize that this "different" face of STAY FOCUSED is more exciting than their (Midwest-)Emo-face, they go back to the stuff from the beginning with "New Picture Frame" and the title-track, to conclude the full length.

"Values" took its time to grow on me, cause it downright confused me, three or four spins in it. What seemed to be a modern Emo-record at first, constantly turned and rotated in many different directions. Ultimately it was and still is hard to pin them down to a certain kind of style. And damn, that's what we -as we the people- love to do, don't we? In the end, STAY FOCUSED are interesting just because of their multilayered character. Curiously enough, they sound even more interesting when they turn their backs on Emo to flirt with Alt-Rock...

STAY FOCUSED on Bandcamp
STAY FOCUSED on Instagram