Ever plan out your whole day and then find yourself napping on the couch at 8am? Okay, so maybe that’s just me and a few others today. So I’m trying to be productive and get in as much freelance work as possible since I’ve been cut off from my steady job, and I’m here to tell you about Messenger Down’s The Gentleman’s Guide to Keeping Away From People Like You. If Panic! at the Disco mated with The Venetia Fair and made sure it never set eyes and ears on vaudeville, you’d have this record. For it has theatrics, but doesn’t come off as a Big Top performance, but rather a rock band who loves to showcase drama.
I found myself split on this record, and right now we’ll touch on the songs I liked and as for the others, they failed to give me something more. They fell by the wayside, while the others shined like honor students on awards day in elementary school. One thing’s for sure, this record looked like old Fall Out Boy with titles so long, you could up the word count on your thesis if you used them.
“Just Not the Hero Type” has an elegant beauty to it as the orchestrated intro welcomes you into The Gentleman’s Guide to Keeping Away From People Like You. From there you’re given a powerful guide with “North Star (…and Million Miles to Home),” while things stay steady with “The Gentleman’s Guide to Keeping Away From People Like You.” Skip along to “Nostalgically Yours” and there you’ll find the treasure box of the entire record. I’ll bet you 5 bucks in Monopoly money that you’ll be singing this one while the rest of the record plays; it’s that good.
Messenger Down have the drama in the music to make it noticeable, but aren’t as showy as Panic! once was, so if you liked the Pretty Odd era and bands like Every Avenue, then check them out. The Gentleman’s Guide to Keeping Away From People Like You is out now, so if you haven’t already fled this review to listen, go right now.
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