Hailing from Sacramento, CA, Drive-Thru Records'/Rushmore Records' own Punk Rock group Self Against City will be releasing their first full length album entitled "Telling Secrets To Strangers". This album is their second release to go along with their 6 song EP "Take It How You Want It", which was their debut CD back in 2005. For those who don't already know, Self Against City are Jonathan Michael on vocals and guitar, Jack Matranga on guitar, vocals and keys, and Jeff LaTour on guitar and vocals. Bassist Patrick O'Connor and drummer Chris Trombley were included on the making of the upcoming album but have left the band and now have Hunter on bass guitars and Justin on drums to complete the line up of Self Against City.

As soon I put the CD in my CD player, the album kicks off with a high-powered track entitled "Becoming A Monster". It starts off with some high guitar riffs for about 7 seconds and then Jonathan opens up with "Let's take this all the way" which to be is starting the song with the chorus and I find it very catchy to the ears by the way it's played. I love the way they added the "ohhh..., ohhh..." in the backup vocals and this isn't the only time this is done on the entire CD. It just adds that nice effect to the song having more than just one voice in a song. Note this song has some expletive language in it but all those emo-kids in this world wouldn't care less I would think. To put an end to this song, I would say it is very well developed and played very well and has a lot of energy. I would say this is on my "Favorite Song" list of this album. A few tracks later we get another hard edge track with a great melody and a great intro as well. This track lasts all but under 3 minutes but is well worth the listen. The song is the band's current single "Ready And Willing". I love the words in the chorus in this song, which goes to the lines of "Overrated boys and attention starved girls, A little curious, a little insecure, they call it love it might be premature, but they don't need excuses to feel used or feel lust, to feel wanted for once, to know there's somebody else whose dying to feel anything, ready and willing..." To me, this song represents how one (the boy) who is desperate and meets a girl and wants to spent all the time he can with her in a short period of time but then really doesn't care for her at all in the end, hence being used and in lust on the girl's part. Now we have another personal favorite of mine which is called "Disappearing Art", which to me has to be in a close tie for best track on the album with "Ready And Willing". I'd like to compare this song to another because if you listen closely you can almost see that the intro from this one compares to Quietdrive's "Rise From The Ashes". That's just me talking but I'm sure a lot of people would say the same thing. Another energy filled track and I find the rhythm of the sound and the lyrics fit very well together. There are great riffs and melodies in this song that make it very touchable. Just one last song I thought was worth mentioning, perhaps a softer style than the rest. "Tequila Moonlight", the riffs and melodies are much softer in this song than any other track on this album. It's good to have a change in a song but it builds up towards the end of the song at the 3:08 mark. I can go on and on about each of the 11 tracks on the album but I will not want to spoil it for all of you that want to give the album a listen.

In all, "Telling Secrets to Strangers" is an excellent album and I am privileged to have had a chance to listen to it before it drops. I say this because when you go out on January 9th, 2007, don't be shy, go to your record store and buy this album because you won't be disappointed. For a band who call this their "debut full length", they have sure done a good job on this deal and making it very listenable to all the fans that they have and even bring more into their base. I wasn't much a fan but after listening to this album, well... I can tell you that I could be classified as their number one fan. This album really surprised me because I didn't expect much out of their debut. Usually it takes a few albums to get the adrenaline going but Self Against City have figured out how to get this going on the first try. I guess it was safe to say that releasing an EP before their debut full length release was a good way to see how many people would actually listen or buy their stuff. Well they sure proved that and I hope that all of you agree with me and go out and support the band.

Rating: 4.5/5