Let It Happen

Artist: Let It Happen

Album: It Hurts, But It’s Worth It

Label: Unsigned

Release Date: 22 November 2011

Rating: 9/10



I have heard thousands of albums over my life, but only a few have really hit me the way like Let It Happen’s latest EP It Hurts, But It’s Worth It did. If I had to pick one album to represent the last 2 years of my life, this album is at the top of my list. It’s an album that anyone can relate to because it is so personable within its meaning.



I see this EP as a step by step process of how an adolescent mind functions during periods of feeling lost in life. The process all starts off when you begin to feel all alone, even in a party setting when you’re surrounded by many people (‘Disconnect Routine’). The thoughts of being alone slowly start to tear you up inside to the point where you over think and throw yourself into a panic where you can’t sleep at night (‘Can’t Close My Eyes’). Once you realize everything is beginning to fall apart you begin to realize what you want is not what you really need, and your heart and soul begin to wage a war with one another (‘You’re Killing Me’).



Now you’re at this awkward stalemate where you want to make something of this life but you’re too scared and don’t exactly know what you are chasing for, but you know you can’t surrender so you begin to tell the world you’re not giving up (‘Bridge’). After realizing that you refuse to give up on it all, you grab a close friend and just escape for a little while, whether it’s a night drive just to feel alive or a simple walk down the sidewalk. You need that one thing to help get you grounded once again (‘Oh So Speechless’). Finally, redemption kicks in and Let It Happen says it best, “The bottoms not bad, trust me I know / You kick me while I’m down, I’ll never hit the ground, I’ll turn it all around to breathe again” (‘Hide and Seek’).



Lyrically, this EP is flawless in my eyes. They do not try to hide these messages behind elaborate metaphors and fake stories, rather they lay it all out in front of you and to me that is why I love this EP so much. Everything with this EP is rational and pertains to everyone, because we have all been there before. The line that sticks out most to me is in the song, ‘You’re Killing Me’ (featuring guest vocals of Nick Diener of The Swellers, “I forgot to mention the things I believe about the heart and the soul where one hates the other, but the other can’t know.” That is where all conflicts derive from, something that emotionally tears you into two, and when your heart and soul do not agree they battle against on another while slowly dragging you down.



The vocals and instrumentals blew me away. The singing is so crystal clear you never have to struggle to figure out what is being said, which is one thing that I am very picky about. Emotions and passion are obviously heard through every word spoken, and when hitting a higher note, the vocals get strained in such a way that sends chills down your spine. Instrumentals go hand in hand with the vocals, they are catchy, fast, and so many great riffs that weave in and out of a melody that will leave you addicted and amazed.



Overall, this is one of the best releases I have heard all year. If you cannot relate to this album then you are not human by any means. With such reality and emotion put into creating this EP, it’s obvious that it will become a ‘Top Played’ album on your iPod, iTunes, Windows, or whatever you use. I never want to turn this album off, that is how heavily appraised this album is in my eyes, and I know without a doubt that it will impact you the exact same way. Go check out Let It Happen and be sure to buy It Hurts, But It’s With It, you will not regret it!



Written By: Tyler Schmidt - Neck Deep Media

Pop punk can often get a bad reputation from critics and music fans and it’s not hard to see why. With rockstar prettyboys like All Time Low being churned out by the minute playing their same old, dull version of pop punk of course it’s going to get a bad name. However, Let It Happen are proving that playing decent music is the key as opposed to getting hundreds of thousands of preteen fangirls.

In fact, Let It Happen would probably feel right at home if they came over to the UK and surrounded themselves with bands like You Me At Six, although with bands like The Swellers as pals they’re probably fine over the pond.. Diverse with catchy songs is how it should be done and this is exactly what Let It Happen have got.

Disconnect Routine is the perfect opener from a band who clearly where their heart on their sleeve. As the record progresses and we get tracks like Can’t Close My Eyes and the epic Bridges, you realise that Let It Happen are a little more than a pop punk band. They’re doing this because they love making music and as the title suggests, it can hurt. Maybe it did hurt to make this record – blood, sweat and tears obviously went in to it but with the outcome like this it was worth it.

The record closes with Hide and Seek which sounds a lot like Paramore’s Be Careful, not a bad thing though as if you’re making songs good enough to be in Paramore’s back catalogue – you’re doing something right.

Let It Happen are a band with huge potential. Unlike the majority of today’s “pop punk” bands they mean what they say and they say what they mean. They where their heart on their sleeves and their pride shines through. The road ahead is going to hurt more than the making of this record but when they get to the end of it, it will still be worth it.

For fans of: You Me At Six, Paramore, The Swellers - Rock Reviews 24/7