A Day to Remember - Common Courtesy
A Day to Remember - Common Courtesy (2013)
After 3 years with no new music, A Day to Remember made their comeback in 2013. And, of course, being A Day to Remember, they had to come back with a bang. They started the year off with the Right Back at It Again Tour and then headlined the House Party Tour, which very well may have been the best tour of 2013. All of this was, of course, leading up to the release of their newest album, Common Courtesy.
As a self-released album in the middle of a lawsuit with Victory Records, Common Courtesy was either going to make or break A Day to Remember's career. Fans had been waiting for three years and with a backlist including Homesick and What Separates Me from You, the standards were high.
I am extremely happy to say that Common Courtesy was definitely the album that cemented A Day to Remember as one of the best bands in the scene. The album is the perfect blend of all of A Day to Remember's previous albums, including some harder songs with wicked breakdowns for the mosh pits and the softer, meaningful songs that connect so well with fans.
The album starts out with the band reflecting on their beginning in “City of Ocala”. This is followed by “Right Back at It Again”, “Sometimes You're the Hammer, Sometimes You're the Nail”, and “Dead and Buried”. “Right Back at It Again” and “Dead and Buried” are the two of the heaviest songs on the album, along with “Violence (Enough is Enough) and the bonus track “Same Book but Never the Same Page”, and include breakdowns that are guaranteed to make the pit go wild. “Sometimes You're the Hammer” is arguably the best song on the entire album, with a few hardcore moments of screaming and some of the softest, most meaningful lyrics on the album.
Considering this music was written in the middle of a major dispute with Victory Records, it comes as no surprise that many songs reflected on that situation. While the band made a point to keep the majority of the songs relatable to all fans, the song “The Document Speaks for Itself” is a direct (well-written) dig at Victory and many of the other songs include more subtle The album closes out with “I Remember”, another song of the band reflecting on the beginning of their career. The end of the song brings 5 minutes of commentary from the band as they talk about all of their memories.
I can honestly say there is not a single bad song on the entire album. As noted above, it's just an incredible combination of all the previous albums and whether fans loved the earlier, harder music of A Day to Remember or the softer songs found on What Separates Me from You, it's almost guaranteed they will enjoy Common Courtesy.
Sky Fisher
