Name: What to Do When You Are Dead
Brand: Relativity Entertainment
SKU: 1096425
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.8 (5 reviews)

Performer Notes

Initial pressings Of WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR DEAD include(d) Limited Edition bonus DVD.
Armor for Sleep: Ben Jorgensen (vocals); P.J. DeCicco (guitar); Anthony DiIonno (bass guitar); Nash Breen (drums).
Recording information: The Machine Shop, Hoboken, NJ (08/2004-10/2004); Water Music, Hoboken, NJ (08/2004-10/2004).
Among emo fans, it's all about which band can best touch the heart, engage the head, and rock the body in equal measure. Armor for Sleep has been one of the most successful on all three counts, regularly performing to gaggles of sweaty kids who sing along with every word. Of course, with lines like "Give me your hand; I'll shake it...and smile until my face falls off my head," this is no mean feat. Though, on the surface, the group's radio-friendly take on the "smart-punk" genre may appear to have something in common with pop-punk jesters Blink 182, Armor for Sleep's lyrics repeatedly explore themes of loneliness, death, and existential angst.
Sonically, the ensemble is a bit more straightforward than some of its contemporaries, sticking with tried-and-true driving bass lines ("Stay on the Ground") and Iron Maiden-like harmonized lead-guitar lines ("Remember to Feel Real"). On "Walking at Night, Alone," an acoustic-guitar line even recalls the introduction to fellow New Jersey-ite Jon Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive." With WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE DEAD, Armor for Sleep finds the common ground between tuneful accessibility and intellectual rigor.

Professional Reviews

Alternative Press (p.122) - 5 out of 5 - "[A] bit of early-20s indie-rock existentialism that finds the band absolutely unafraid to write songs that sound like a chorus from start to finish."