Say Anything are a band with a colourful history. Numerous line up changes, lead singer Max Bemis’ battles with bi-polar depression and drug habits, it’s a wonder that the band have even made it through to this, their self-titled third studio album. But whoever said what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger didn’t know the half of it, as Bemis and co. deliver a slaughtering of the senses and deliver an album that might just sneak in to take album of the year.

The album delivers thirteen hook ridden tracks, playing with a more upbeat, poppier sound than previously exhibited. Each is more infectious than the last; it’s like a pop punk parasite burrowing into your brain, but then you actually get along quite nicely. The record starts with the volatile and aggressive ‘Fed To Death’, and never lets up from here. Bemis lyrics are as always a sordid treat, with grotesque ideas somehow becoming beautifully poetic. ‘Death For My Birthday’ is the funnest song you’ve ever heard on the subject of euthanasia. ‘Mara And Me’ is a schizophrenic’s paranoid nightmare come true. While ‘Ahh... Men’ is a heroic anthem for twisted romantics everywhere.

Musically the band delve down alleyways previously unexplored, giving the record a much grander finish. And technically the songs on this record are a lot more stable and resolute than previous efforts. That said, certain tracks do lull into a false sense of security, only to pummel the listener to a bloody pulp. It’s the musical equivalent of being bought a drink by some enchanting stranger at a bar, only to wake up in a bathtub of ice with both your kidneys missing.

It’s an album with charisma and charm, it’s intimate yet aloof, it’s sickly sweet but with a sinister side. It’s everything great about Say Anything, turned up. The album has so many hidden hooks and dark alleyways that it could take forever to explore them all, but you’ll love every minute finding them. With moments so catchy you’ll want to sing them aloud all day long. But with lyrics such as, "Can I lie with you in your grave?" just be careful where you sing them.