Anything But Slow: Emo king Cameron Boucher returns to his roots with Old Gray’s latest album, Slow Burn

Old Gray have inspired a generation of teens to pick up their guitars and wail about romance, suicide, and depression. Boucher (which I have finally confirmed is pronounced boo-shay) has become a spokesman for bipolar disease, or manic depression. He makes sure to tell the audience at every show that he struggles with this illness every day and that they are incredibly special, worthy, and much better than suicide, unlike a previous generation of emo/punk that almost seemed to glorify self-harm. Boucher is honest about the friends he’s lost to suicide, which have inspired so many of his songs the past two years.

Old Gray started in 2011 and have since released two full albums, a number of splits, and several EPs. Their debut album, An Autobiography came out in 2013, a master work filled with lyrics so honest Boucher seems to steal the words right out of your messed up head and belt them out in a way that makes you want to hug poor Cam and tell him it’s okay. That, and sing along until your voice goes horse.

The band went their separate ways, but Boucher and drummer/spoken word artist, Charlie Singer remained together and formed the toned down, pop punk band Sorority Noise, who have turned into an even bigger success, touring with notable bands such as Modern Baseball and Motion City Soundtrack.

Now with their second studio album, Slow Burn, they prove they’ve still got the good ‘ol high pitched indiscernible scream inside their lungs. They’ve taken a step towards the hardcore style of short, explosive tracks. Unlike before where their songs averaged 2-4 minutes, now most of them are hardly over a minute with the shortest being “Razor Blade” at 27 seconds. The longest tracks are the instrumental “On Earth as it is in Heaven” and “Like Blood From a Stone,” which is mostly spoken word, a poem read and written and read by William James about an attempted suicide and the following inpatient therapy.

The first single and perhaps the gem of the album “Everything is in Your Hands,” ends by repeating, “I can haunt you too, if you want me to,” suggesting that even when our friends are dead and speaking to us from the grave, we can channel their pain against them. Suicide may be something we do to ourselves, but it is also something that happens to other people. Perhaps the act is intended to tell everyone in our lives that there’s nothing else they can do. Boucher says no, you let go of me so I’m letting go if you, too.

Where once they let songs build and crescendo from haunting instrumental to heartbreaking verse, here they don’t give you space to take in their sound and learn what to expect. They hit you as suddenly as a loved one’s death. The album’s cover is a shed burning violently in the woods. That’s Boucher’s brain. That’s the anguish he’s sharing with us. From that fire he’s created a sound as dark as the smoke that rises from it.

Pay for Slow Burn, don’t just stream it. With all the hard work and tears this band has put into their music, they deserve some reward. Whatever way you listen to it, listen to it alone. Unlike most emo-suicide themed works, this is not a cry of help. This is a cry for the listener to get help, to know they are not alone.