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After Midnight Project – Let’s Build Something To Break Review
by Jay Rowland

The Los Angeles band, After Midnight Project, stepped onto the scene back in 2004 when Jason Evigan decided to get a group of guys together to start playing the music he’d written. The band consists of Jason Evigan (vocals), TJ Armstrong (bass, vocals), Christian Meadows (guitar), Danny Morris (drums), and Spencer Bastian (guitar). In 2007 the band self released their first EP, The Becoming, which caught the attention of Universal Motown. In 2009 they played Van’s Warped Tour as well as releasing their full length album, Let’s Build Something To Break.

The Album opens with the epic song, “Backlit Medley”. Jason’s vocals take a strong command of the song from the beginning and give us some nice lyrics to sing along with. If there was a complaint to be made about this song it would be that there aren’t more guitar sections like the two at 1:27 and 3:22. The song finished up with that same strong sound though when it comes back in at 3:22. It’s a great choice for the opening song and sets the mood nicely. The tempo slows down fairly early in the album with the intro to the melodic punk sounding, “The Becoming”. The lyrics are the strongest part of the song. It’s very nice to hear some decently written lyrics along with good music. The spoken word section of the song fits nicely as it brings the song to an angry sounding second half.

An almost haunting sound is the theme of the single, “Take Me Home”. It blends some haunting lyrics and music with a harder edge that keeps flowing back into the song. The tempo picks up and keeps the faster pace toward the end of the track to give it a strong finish. Based upon the reactions of the fans to this song it has been a great choice for the first single off this album. Listeners find themselves with a break from the rock sound with the ballad, “Gone To Long”. The song showcases Jason’s strong voice as he laments about being gone too long from the one he loves. The tempo picks up slightly with the catchy song, “Hollywood”. The song has a driving percussion sound that infects your brain. It’s one of those songs that gets stuck in your head throughout the day. In this case it isn’t a bad thing. This good times song is an instant classic.

“Fighting My Way Back” is another good slow song that shows off the range of talent from these guys. It gives the sense of a lot more unsaid. An entire album could be based around this song. The lyrics blend together nicely with the music to bring the listener inside the song. “Fighting My Way Back” blends nicely into the intro for the closing track, “The Criminal”. The song picks up quickly and becomes an anthem against the over abundance of war in our world today. The tempo drops down at the end as Jason sings of the sorrows of a possible death in the wars. It definitely makes for a good finish to the album, however I find myself wishing it had ended on a more upbeat note.

Let’s Build Something To Break is a great introduction to an up and coming band. Ranging from rock to an almost punk sound, the album will please just about any music fan. After you pick up a copy of the album make sure to catch After Midnight Project live on one of their upcoming tours or this summer on the 2010 Van’s Warped Tour.

For Fans Of: The Veer Union, Royal Bliss, Evans Blue

Top Tracks: The Becoming, More To Live For, Hollywood

Rating: 8.5/10

Track Listing:
1. Backlit Medley
2. The Becoming
3. Scream For You
4. Take Me Home
5. More To Live For
6. Gone To Long
7. Hollywood
8. The Real Thing
9. Come On Come On
10. Fighting My Way Back
11. The Criminal

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