Bleach– Farewell Old Friends
Label: Tooth & Nail
Style: Alternative Rock, Power Pop, Indie
Released: 2004
My Grade: 5 stars
AMG: n/a
Sounds like: Weezer, Blur, Built To Spill



This is one of the hardest reviews I have ever had to write, because this band meant more to me then most any other. When I was younger there were three distinct bands that really got me interested in alternative music, that really pushed me to my current love and aspirations, and although they did not stay my favorites they were the first – Bleach was one of those bands (Sixpence and Switchfoot complete that set). They have never been critical favorites, in fact most critics and reviews seem to look very negatively on these hardworking guys and I think that had something to do with the way they performed their music, they played rock music and had fun doing it, they did not care about being artistic or different, they just wanted to rock.

Since their debut I followed them around, loving each and every album, and each time they impressed me with their slow musical growth and maturity, the music matched their aging at a perfect pace. I can remember bouncing up and down in excitement with their sophomore album (“Static”) and tracks like “County Western Song” and “Super Good Feeling” or hearing the term ‘Nashvegas Fuzz Punk’ to describe them, because it was them. I was disappointed when they moved from Forefront to Tooth & Nail and released “Again For The First Time” because it seemed to push them so far back musically, like they were trying to become the cheerleaders of pop/punk – but then their masterpiece arrived in the form of “Astronomy” and all was well again.

Why all this back history you might ask? Well, it is because I don’t think anyone can truly understand and appreciate this band without going through their past and watching them grow up. Could you possibly appreciate something with no history, I can see you enjoying it, but not appreciating the growth, effort and time put into it.

I see this final album as their perfect swan song; their farewell ending to what life gave them and the energy that formed around them. When Sixpence called it quits and released a shaky ‘Best of’ there was not enough time or notice to really say goodbye, it was a sad and abrupt ending; but Bleach announced their ending over a year in advance and did a farewell tour that culminated with their final show in Nashville last September – and with the news that they would release one final album, giving their fans enough time to collect themselves and say goodbye.

The album opens with the bouncy “Write It Down” – a song that seems to be Bleach’s sendoff, that if you don’t hear them now don’t worry, they will write it down for you to keep. This song is almost deceiving though in the way it opens the album, because it soon slows down to an almost melancholy pace, they wade through such emotionally heavy songs (“Gonna Take Some Time”) and such heartbreakers that I was almost brought to tears by the way they seem so sad to go. The album continues through that struggle of trying to bow out gracefully and not break down crying. The crowning moment comes with “Sufficient” when they succeed in a way they never were able to do before, blending their religious convictions with their charming worldview and the hope they hold for tomorrow, it builds higher and higher in which guest vocalist Christa Joy Black blends herself into the music to showcase the wonder in the words.

“Farewell Old Friends” closes out the disc, with vocalist David Baysinger telling their fans and the world that they may be gone, but that it is just the beginning of something wonderful, that life changes but friends are forever and we will live together in memories, this song really hit me hard, and broke me down, creating a bittersweet closing for a spectacular band.

I could actually keep writing, keep building up this album and the emotions I feel inside it, but the reality is that no one will really understand it unless they have followed these guys through it all and have seen them live, this album was created as the closing chapter for the fans who have followed them for nearly a decade; and no one outside that group will really understand the impact they had on alternative music.
Goodbye old friends, you were one in a million and closer to me then most any other band, and this is the best ending you could ever give me, thank you.

Reviewed by: Samuel Aaron