TONIGHT ALIVE – WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF?
Released 1st October 2012 (Search and Destroy Records)

Words: Stevie Blackburn

It’s pretty obvious we’re now living in a world where a large proportion of the pop-punk/alternative scene is dominated by all male bands but since the invasion of Australian female fronted band, Tonight Alive have finally shown that there’s room for both sexes to bring talent to the table.

We know it must be hard for any band like Tonight Alive to break through without constantly getting compared to Paramore and granted, they do strike a resemblance to a mix of Hayley Williams’ angst-fuelled energy and Tay Jardine from We Are The In Crowd beautifully melodic voice but together, this band have nothing to worry about especially if new album, What Are You Scared Of? Has anything to do with it.

We don’t like to sound biased here at Noise Addiction but we’ve actually found it hard to find a song we don’t like on the new album. Every track has such passion and clear dedication to what they love most in life which is completely reflected track by track. The band released Breaking and Entering as a pre-launch teaser for fans. The punchy lyrics and fiery vocals of leading lady, Jenna McDougall are enough to convince you that this is going to be a pretty amazing album. The track has a strong influence of fellow female fronted band, Flyleaf with its calm and collected verses, progressing into angry choruses.

Slightly rockier number comes in the form of Fake It, where we see the musical talents from Jenna’s backing boys that make up Tonight Alive, Guitarists Whakaio Taahi and Jake Hardy, Bassist Cam Adler and Matt Best on Drums. With their powerful riffs teamed with their rough and edgy sound, they make this song the little gem that it is, there’s a lot of potential for a future single from this track. On the other end of the spectrum creating a colourful and energetic poppy track is Thank You & Goodnight, and what’s more is this track has a little hidden treat for all fans of Blink-182 as the legendary Mark Hoppus makes a vocal appearance on the record.

Slower number, Amelia is one of those powerful ballads that’ll be tugging on your heartstrings in no time. It’s so beautifully written and actually has some meaning to it which seems to be lacking significantly in the music industry these days. Stand out track on What Are You Scared Of? has to be Sure as Hell as we just can’t stop listening to it. Okay, we’ll admit it’s a little poppy but c’mon, Tonight Alive makes it sound so much cooler than most bands can. If you’re looking for an album that you’re going to thoroughly enjoy from start to finish then this is the one for you. There’s so much raw energy and up and coming talent in Tonight Alive that it’s no surprise they’re about to headline their own UK tour after only being a band since 2008. This band are going to make it big so get to one of the small shows whilst you still can.