ALBUM REVIEW: I Choose Love – Bayline

Melodic rock band BAYLINE have now put out their debut album I Choose Love. When it comes to the band’s sound, they like to play a mixture of tracks ranging from solid punk and rock songs, to those that sit on the more gentle side of things it terms of soft sounds and melodies, as a way to reflect the current state of society and the ups and downs we face daily. For the band, this a way to appeal to a range of rock fans, which is a fine principle on its own, yet it does make for an album that feels a bit indecisive with some moments standing out better than others.

To open the album, the band begin with Dead End Life that starts out promising with a deep distorted guitar that then shifts into what should be a solid rock song with grunge elements with a melodic twist, and yet it’s, well, a bit dull to listen to. Sure it’s pleasant but you find yourself zoning out, although luckily there is another shift where things speed up in rhythm and you’re back on their side.

It’s odd as there are moments in some tracks that are unforgettable and get you pumped, particularly in the more anthemic songs. Perfect examples of these include Ignore The Devil and A Crow Left Of The Murder, which genuinely sound like they would be perfect played live in a sold-out arena or even snuck onto the setlist of an arena rock band like BIFFY CLYRO. There are also some stunning moments in which the band experiment with different genres like 00s emo-punk, as heard on Trophy Heads, and a stunning combination of rock ‘n’ roll and hard-rock on A Little Learning Is A Dangerous Thing.

But in that same breath there are songs that, on paper, sound like they should be incredible and yet end up being rather dull, not in terms of sounding bad but more that they’re holding back. A good (or bad?) example of this is Sound The Alarm which has parts heavily inspired by hard rock and grunge which should sound stunning and take your breath away, but for some reason just feels a bit underwhelming.

I Choose Love is a strange one, you’ll be entertained by it and yet you’ll come out of it feeling like you’ve not been given a full experience of something that should be incredible. Don’t get us wrong, when it comes to the rock ‘n’ roll and more anthemic rock tracks, BAYLINE nail it, and their experimentation with emo also pays off, but overall I Choose Love is a bit of a mixed bag.

Rating: 7/10

I Choose Love is out now via Suburban Records/Flight 13.

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