Burning at Both Ends

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This article is about the Set Your Goals album. For the song by Nik Kershaw, see The Works (Nik Kershaw album). For the 2022 film, see Burning at Both Ends (film).

Burning at Both Ends
Six guys on the side of the road next to a van with birds circling above them
Studio album by
Set Your Goals
ReleasedJune 28, 2011
RecordedOctober 2010 – January 2011
Studio
  • Salad Days
    , Baltimore, Maryland
  • Tree Fort, Los Angeles, California
pop punk
Length53:33
LabelEpitaph
ProducerBrian McTernan, Mike Green
Set Your Goals chronology
This Will Be the Death of Us
(2009) 		Burning at Both Ends
(2011)
Singles from Burning at Both Ends
  1. "Certain"
    Released: May 20, 2011
  2. "Product of the 80's"
    Released: June 4, 2012

Burning at Both Ends is the third studio album by American

pop punk band Set Your Goals. Recording for the album began in October and November 2010 with producer Brian McTernan in Baltimore, Maryland. The group took a break to support You Me at Six on their UK tour in December; they were unable to fly back until the end of the month due to bad weather to finish the album. The sessions resumed and ran in to mid-January when the band ran out of studio time. They briefly tracked with second producer Mike Green in Los Angeles, California. Following recording, the band embarked on two US tours, one supporting Parkway Drive and the other alongside August Burns Red
.

Leading up to the album's release announcement, "Start the Reactor" and "Exit Summer" were made available for streaming, and "Certain" served as the first single. Burning at Both Ends was released through independent label Epitaph Records in June 2011. A stint on the Warped Tour and performances at the Australian Soundwave Counter-Revolution festival followed. The band continued touring the US until the end of the year with two supporting slots for New Found Glory and Four Year Strong, and a separate headlining tour soon after. Shows in South America and festival appearances preceded a 2012 co-headlining US tour with Cartel and a UK tour. Following this, "Product of the 80's" was released as a single in June.

Described as a

Top Rock Albums
. Burning at Both Ends received a favourable response from critics, although some noted the lack of energy and tempo. Dead Press! included the album on a pop punk best-of list.

Background and recording

In March 2009, the band announced they had signed to independent label

Salad Days Studios in Baltimore, Maryland. McTernan, who also acted as the engineer, was assisted in the production by Paul Leavitt.[5] Going into the studio, the band had four to five versions of each track already worked out.[6] During the sessions, McTernan wanted the group to write a hit; they subsequently jammed out "Certain" and "London Heathrow" in 30 minutes.[7]

Recording continued in to November, before the group took a break to support You Me at Six on their headlining UK tour in December.[8][9] While trying to fly home, the band were stuck at Heathrow Airport as all flights had been cancelled due to bad weather.[7] They returned to Baltimore on December 29 and resumed recording the following day.[10] Rhythm guitar and bass parts were finished, and half the vocals were done by January 5, 2011; lead guitar parts followed on January 8.[11][12] The band left Baltimore on January 15 having run out of studio time.[13][14] They began working with Mike Green in Los Angeles, California, on January 20 to finish up the vocals.[15][14] These sessions were held at Tree Fort Studio; Green, who also served as the engineer, was assisted in production by Kyle Black.[5]

On January 31, the group announced that they had finished recording.

crew vocals by: Brown, Holden, Julio, Arcangeli, Michael Bumblis, 1090 Club keyboardist Mike Galt, Emilio Martinez, Kevin O'Connell, Seahaven drummer James Phillips, Epitaph staff member Felicia Risolo, Brian Warner, and Set Your Goals. All the tracks except "Raphael" were mixed by JR McNeely at ELM Studio South in Nashville, Tennessee. "Raphael" was mixed by Black at Tree Fort. Dave Collins then mastered the tracks at DC Mastering in Los Angeles.[5]

Composition

Musically, the album has been described as

pop punk,[17][18][19] with hardcore punk-inspired guitar work.[20] It drew comparisons to early Saves the Day and Blink-182. Overall, the album has a slower tempo than the band's past releases,[18] except for "Exit Summer" and "Illuminated Youth", both of which retain faster tempos.[19] All the songs are credited to Set Your Goals and Brian McTernan, with the exception of "Calaveras", which was written by drummer Mikey Ambrose. Vocalists Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown wrote all of the lyrics.[5] "Cure for Apathy" is about being able to discern the differences between fame and success. "Start the Reactor" tackles the aspect of home life and the issues that arise from being part of a full-time touring act. Lyrically, "Happy New Year" is the darkest track on the album; Wilson said 2010 was the "worst year of [his] life",[7] and had pondered over what the future held for him. "London Heathrow" had the working title "Smashing Pumpkins" as the group felt it was reminiscent of the work of the band of the same name. Brown said that he had premonitions in the form of daydreams, one of which came to him while he was stuck at Heathrow Airport and inspired the song.[7]

"Trenches" is about the over-glamorised touring lifestyle that someone can only comprehend when they have lived through it. "The Last American Virgin" takes its title from the

Madonna, Saved by the Bell (1989) and The Goonies (1985), among others.[21]

While in the studio, band members were naming the tracks after

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle references; Brown likening "Raphael" to the personality of the character of the same name. He said the lyrics served as "one long train of inner thought. First from confusion and fear, to want / need, to carelessness, and finally to remorse and forgiveness."[7] A majority of "Illuminated Youth" was written while on the 2007 Paramore/the Starting Line tour. Brown called it an "invitation" for someone to leave their worries behind and become consumed in the "moments made possible by live music".[7] "Not as Bad" talks about taking the plunge, breaking the rules and finding what works for the listener.[7] The track lasts for nearly 19 minutes in total, however, 15 minutes of it is silent; a hidden track starts at the 18-minute mark[21] featuring the sounds of cats and burping.[22] "Calaveras" sounds out of place compared to the rest of the album. Wilson said the lyrics were about his former residence at 4100 Calaveras Drive, which he described as being "like the den of iniquity."[7]

Release

In February and March 2011, the band supported

Keep A Breast Foundation.[34]

Between June and August 2011, the group embarked for a stint on the

Zumiez Couch Tour.[46] "Product of the 80's" was released as a single before the tour on June 4.[47]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic67/100[48]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk56%[20]
AllMusic[17]
Dead Press![49]
PopMatters[22]
Punknews.org[19]
Rock Sound8/10[50]

Burning at Both Ends peaked at number 165 on the

Top Rock Albums.[51][52] Dead Press! ranked the release at number seven on their top ten pop punk albums of the year list.[53]

Burning at Both Ends received generally favorable reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[48] The Aquarian Weekly writer Giorgio Mustica highlighted "Start the Reactor" and "Trenches", praising Wilson and Brown's vocals on both tracks.[21] He admitted that while he is normally not a fan of pop punk, he found the album "really ... exciting."[21] Exclaim! reviewer Farah Barakat noted the slower tempo and focus on melodies; she spotlighted "Exit Summer" and "Certain" as faster tracks, finding the former "quickly fall[ing] short after the first verse" and the latter being "the strongest track" on the album.[18]

Tim Newbound of Rock Sound wrote that the band was "back in irresistibly anthemic form", containing the "right blend of punk attitude and pop genius. With 'Burning At Both Ends', the Bay Area sextet have further underlined their second-to-none pop-punk pedigree."[50] Chris Loomes of Dead Press! said it was "definitely a grower", with the band "storm[ing]" through the record "bursting with catchy hooks and thriving melodies."[49] He singled out a number of pleasing vocal moments across the album, namely in "Certain" and "Exit Summer".[49]

AllMusic reviewer Gregory Heaney complimented the band's "liberal use of infectious singalong choruses and half-time breakdowns", which are handled in a manner that is "precise without feeling restrained."[17] Brian Shultz, in a review for Punknews.org, said overall that the group simply took the mid-tempo speed of "Summer Jam" (an earlier track of theirs), and then added "plenty of gloss across the board."[19] He said the record's highlights "only manage to stand out marginally" over the standouts on their second album.[19]

PopMatters' Will Rausch wrote that while there were a few "solid" songs "and almost no terrible ones", a significant chunk of the album is simply "plain mediocre or leaves you with a feeling of musical blue balls."[22] AbsolutePunk staff member Thomas Nassiff considered it a "downright embarrassment", adding that the sole major flaw it had was being "super boring."[20] Critiquing it as a "blander, more watered-down version" of their previous album This Will Be the Death of Us, he felt the group's vocals were weak.[20]

Track listing

All songs written by Set Your Goals and Brian McTernan,[5] except "Calaveras" by Mikey Ambrose.[7] All lyrics by Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown.[5]

No.TitleLength
1."Cure for Apathy"2:22
2."Start the Reactor"2:42
3."Certain"3:02
4."Happy New Year"3:16
5."London Heathrow"2:59
6."Trenches"3:03
7."The Last American Virgin"3:07
8."Exit Summer"2:25
9."Unconditional"3:26
10."Product of the 80's"2:42
11."Raphael"3:12
12."Illuminated Youth"2:48
13."Not as Bad" (at 18:05 a hidden track begins)18:53
Total length:53:33
Digital download/Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Calaveras"2:16
Total length:55:49

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[5]

Charts

Chart performance for Burning at Both Ends
Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[4] 165
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[51] 27
US
Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[52]
 43

References

  1. ^ "Epitaph signs Set Your Goals". Alternative Press. March 24, 2009. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  2. ^ Heisel, Scott (February 27, 2015). "Set Your Goals singer blasts former label: 'We never got a dime'". Substream Magazine. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  3. ^ Carman, Keith (May 28, 2009). "Set Your Goals Gear Up for Epitaph Debut". Exclaim!. Ian Danzig. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Set Your Goals Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Burning at Both Ends (booklet). Set Your Goals. Epitaph Records. 2011. 87133-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  31. ^ Bird, Michele (May 2, 2011). "Set Your Goals to shoot new music video, looking for extras". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
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