Rating: 3.5/5

Emo and alternative band Sorority Noise’s third effort You’re not as __ as you think is an unabashed look at depression that is both brooding and numbing. Cameron Boucher and company navigate the listener through their experiences with personal loss and tragedy, creating a work that is both heavy and moving though its ten tracks.

Most of the songs clock in under 3 minutes and 30 seconds in length, which for another artist may be restrictive. Sorority Noise is able to use the short length of each track to give an honest look at Boucher’s struggles with depression and loss without becoming overbearing. As a result, while the album deals with heavy themes, You’re not as __ as you think is able to get its point across without burdening the listener.

Many of the tracks make use of soft drums and a minimalistic guitar pattern that match Boucher’s straightforward vocals to show the numbing effects of depression. Often, the songs will climax in the chorus, which use gang vocals and more prominent guitars to contrast Boucher’s soft vocals. As a result, upon first listen the album blends together into a melancholy haze that can be easily dismissed.

It’s only after multiple plays that the album begins to reveal how delicate and important it is. Songs like “First Letter from St. Sean” and “Second Letter from St. Julien” are beautiful in their simplicity, as they navigate guitars that float in the background around Boucher’s voice that never comes off too strong. “Car” builds for the entire song before finally breaking through the depressed haze in the final bars, haunting the listener beyond the roughly 2 minutes it lasts.

“A Portrait of” is one of the longer cuts on the album, filling up the space with some of the best guitar patterns on the album. The track cuts into the listener with Boucher’s soft voice that details his struggles with sanity after experiencing loss, punctuated by screamed background vocals that add a sense of paranoia. Boucher is cool and collected for most of the track, allowing the guitars and drums to crash in around him like walls closing in. Towards the end of the song, however, Boucher grows increasingly frantic, breaking into desperate screams by the song’s conclusion that match the intensity of the music.

“Disappeared” is another high point of the album. From the beginning, the guitars and drums build with anticipation, while Boucher’s vocals resonate with clarity. The chorus expands upon the energy in the verses by including semi-shouted background vocals to create a climax for the song. The second verse reels the song in with Boucher barely audible above his whispered voice and a minimalistic acoustic guitar that adds to the fragile tone.

Not every song of the album gets the job done, with “A Better Sun” coming off as repetitive and boring compared to its more thought-provoking contemporaries. However, while the album does little to break new ground in the emo genre and at times is barely differentiable from contemporaries Modern Baseball, You’re not as __ as you think is a calming and haunting experience that requires the listener to examine sorrow through the subtle lens of depression in a way that is never over-dramatic or forced.