Many of us grew up listening to bands like Silverstein while we wrote angst-filled poems alone in our rooms. Ok, maybe not everyone. Silverstein is one of the top post-hardcore bands of our generation, and their 7th studio album This Is How The Wind Shifts was released on Feb. 5.

Immediately we’re thrown into anthem-like screaming from Stand Amidst the Roar. The excitement doesn’t let up until the soft-screeching notes of a guitar mix with lead singer Shane Told’s voice as he softly enters the mix in This Is How. The melancholy vibe continues until the next song, A Better Place, starts. The drums kick in and immediately the album gains momentum. Despite A Better Place’s up beat tune it actually turns out to be a pretty somber about the loss of a close friend, and the deeper songs keep coming with Hide Your Secrets and its soft drumroll coming from the speakers.Later on the song In a Place of Solace picks up the energy again and keeps the album moving forward.Towards the end of the album a mix of soft and harder songs intertwine. Arguably the best song on the CD, Departures, walks us out with trance like rhythms and ballad-styled riffs, topped off with soft but pleading lyrics.

Other great songs on the album are In Silent Seas We Drown, which is filled with harder breakdowns that truly give it that post-harcore feel, and California that has the classic Silverstein sound to it; mixing the heavier drums and lighter screaming with melodic singing and a crescendo of rifts. Finally the song that’s lyrics sum up the album is found in The Wind Shifts. It’s deep lyrics are complemented by an soft waves of a distorted guitar and subtle drum kicks. This song is the rally cry of the album.

The wind shifts by itself
Reminding us where we’ve been
We kick and scream and raise hell
Til we’re too tired to stand
We tear down all our sense
And we’ll force our opinion
We’ll make sure we’re ahead
We’ll hate ourselves in the end

I wanted to be loved by someone
I didn’t want to be so scared

This wind changed me
(I used to care)
This wind changed me

Listening to this album brought me back to my days in middle school, the days I struggled with my identity, and trying to figure out who I was. Maybe it’s the nostalgia that makes this such a good listen, or the memories associated with those feelings, but this CD deserves a listen even if you’ve never heard of Silverstein before. This is arguably the best work this band has put out to date.

5/5 Would listen again