Just what are emo bands so depressed about? Being a young rock
star making shit-tons of money—when did that become a source of angst? As
such, it's hard to take most of them seriously, but Hawthorne Heights
unfortunately earned its distress after screamer-guitarist Casey Calvert died
last November from a fatal interaction of prescription drugs. Calvert's
full-throated bark made the band the most successful screamo outfit out there,
but that's all in the past for Fragile Future, an album that plunks the band back in the rest of
the punk-pop pack. Guitarist J.T. Woodruff has assumed all vocals duties, and
his nasally whine is virtually indistinguishable from the hordes of similar
sounding emo frontmen; that and disappointingly bland hooks make Fragile
Future feel formulaic. Granted, the
group is dwelling in darker territory throughout, and legitimately so (aside
from Calvert's death, the band also just ended a bitter feud with its label),
and the focus seems to be on heartfelt lyrics rather than songcraft. No tracks
stand out until the closing "Come Back Home," which echoes the chorus from "This
Is Who We Are" from 2006's If Only You Were Lonely. Soft and orchestral, with a delicately layered
harmony, the song suggests that the best way for the band to avoid its own fragile
post-Calvert future is to remember its past.