Me Against Sunrise

Me Against Sunrise is extremely talented yet weighed down by the well-worn musical cliches of the bands that clearly inspire it. The act's latest disc, If Ghost Was a Color, pays homage to metal-core heavyweights like Atreyu and Killswitch Engage, borrowing from them liberally and often. Arpeggiated guitar flourishes, double-bass gallops and heart-on-sleeve lyrics are propped up by verses that are screamed before resolving to pretty and tame melodically crooned choruses. If Ghost Was a Color is by no means a bad record; it just lacks originality and identity. Me Against Sunrise, which underwent a lineup change recently, can certainly take solace in the fact that it sounds like other bands in its genre, but eventually the members should ask themselves if this is a good thing.