Emo gets a bad rap pretty consistently in Razorcake most of the time, and I can understand that. Day and Age, to their credit, are competent musicians; they also sound like they studied hard and got their degrees at Moss Icon University. To me, that particular band's influence is crisp and bright and obvious as hell here, right in your face: from the song structures to the lilting, off-key vocals, to the guitar meanderings and cryptic lyrics. Unfortunately, Day and Age lack what Moss Icon had in spades: the ability to draw you, the listener, in; to sonically grab you by the hand and then move that hand right to your throat and throttle you until you're just about ready to weep. We're talkin’ character development here, guys. Conflict, rising action, climax, resolution. Moss Icon killed because they brought you in and then lovingly chopped you off at the knees. Day and Age just go right for the throat, and as a result it's not nearly as effective or moving. What we end up with is a record that's passable and decent, like a weird, low-key amalgamation of Modest Mouse and the Ladderback or something. They do have their moments, and it's a decent record. Unfortunately, I play decent emo records about as much as I play awful ones. Sorry.
–keith (North Park)