They say Grunge music ended when many of the greats such as Layne Staley died in the early 2000s. So, in came the new step in the genre, Post-Grunge, which is mainly really gloomy lyrics, gritty vocals, & dark distorted Hard Rock. Post-Grunge music is a genre I used to be utterly obsessed with, especially in my early teen years. The Hard Rock that played on the local Metal radio station was most certainly my favorite style of music back then. It helped my confusing world make a bit of sense, so I will always have a soft spot for music in the vein of 14 NORTH. The band hails from Florida and began as just a group of 4 friends jamming in a garage on 14^th Ave N in Jacksonville Beach in 2017. The group has lots of influences from beloved bands in my teen angst days and I was admittedly taken aback when I listened to this album and flashbacks came fluttering through my mind as if it was from those times years ago.

"Break" is a solid opening track. Their music has that early 2000s Hard Rock feel to it with the angsty gritty guitar melody and the way the format of the song is written in general would have been tailor-made for a Spiderman movie soundtrack from 2006. "Sun Burns Out" and "Trench" both gave me a strange feeling of nostalgia. I was reminded of my young teen years when the riffs began and I immediately got BREAKING BENJAMIN vibes. "Out of Control" is a much more pissed off track. The riffs are lower, the melody reminded me of a song by STAIND.  "Bleeding" and "Drowning" are both rather sad. The epitome of teen angst music honestly; gloomy lyrics, slow tempo you can draw angry sketches to, and a melody you can sing along to while laying on your bed looking up at the ceiling in despair. "Now I Rise" brings on the SEETHER influence. The melody has that similar feel. This was more of an faster tempo upbeat track, which was nice after the last few suicide note like songs previously. The closing song "Hate Me" is the edgy 'screw my haters!' track people at concerts always sing along with really loudly. Musically, it's definitely catchy with a  fun chorus.

Overall, I feel like I stepped into a time portal to the early mid 2000s when I was a middle school aged teen and full of angst and other weird emotions that I didn't know how to handle. If that's the vibe the band was aiming for, they most certainly nailed it. They channel that gritty, slightly Grunge-y and mostly just pissed at the world feeling (which is important in this genre). The lyrics are super gloomy and not really complex, although they honestly don't need to be. There wasn't a lot of melodic changes between songs and they flowed all together. Bringing myself to the present, this is definitely not something I'd listen to on my own. This angst-fueled slightly repetitive Hard Rock really isn't my music of choice anymore, but it's interesting to hear something new from this genre after years of not listening to anything like it.