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WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE DEAD
(Equal Vision)
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Armor for Sleep’s second album is a bold conceptual leap forward. That’s not to say that the band have progressed past adolescent lyrics — What To Do When You Are Dead is full of emo-centric confessional songwriting. What sets it apart is the way songwriter Ben Jorgenson packages his lovesick tales as an elaborate ghost story, suggesting Coheed and Cambria’s experimental treatment of the genre rather than the over-the-counter prescription of Taking Back Sunday. The music here is adventurous, unpredictable, even diverse. Straightforward, Victory-styled punk anthems give way to "A Quick Little Flight," which layers delicate hazy vocals, canned drumbeats, and electric piano embellishments. "Basement Ghost Singing," another techno trial that generates favorable results, conjures that old tale of the little boy who wakes up to find that he and the monster in the closet have switched places. Most of this stuff does smell like the well-worn hand-me-downs of a previous owner; all the same, it’s refreshing to hear an emo band breaking out of the formulaic. (Armor for Sleep open for All American Rejects this Monday, May 2, at Axis, 13 Lansdowne Street in Boston; call 617-228-6000.)
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