No shuddering here

The key to the success of Queens, N.Y., emo band Bayside has always been their bombastic and anthemic songwriting. Their best songs can only be described as epic, with driving verses and swelling choruses.

Their last release, 2007’s The Walking Wounded, had those qualities in spades, and their latest, Shudder, doesn’t disappoint.

The album starts off strong with “Boy,” which opens with a whirlwind of piano, drums and guitar.

The song hits its peak near the end at the last chorus, as lead singer Anthony Raneri leads a gang of vocalists singing, “Go on, give up, you’ll never win / No crying now, they’re watching him / His blood will boil, and the kids will sing / Learn to drown before you learn to swim.” It sounds like a crowd at a rally for defeatists, but it resonates.

Another strong track is “What and What Not,” though it has a flaw in that the verses are significantly better than the choruses.

The strongest point is the middle, where the most intense lyrical passage is: “But you gotta make a change before you lose control / I’m not saying I know what and what not to do / You’re all torn up from inside out / And I’ve had mistakes in my bed once or twice / And I put in my closet until I finally came to / And I realized I always knew what I had to do.”

Bayside saves the best for the last part of the album, with “Roshambo (Rock, Paper Scissors).” It’s strong in all phases, from the driving percussion and bass, to the support from the guitars, to Raneri’s lyrics and the gang vocals at the start of the verses.

The song’s about growing up and growing old, but manages to have feeling without cliche. The best lyrical passage is at the start of the second verse: “Here I go again, feeling sorry for myself / Am I getting old at heart, too old to pretend / That everything’s alright?”

With superb lyrics and wonderful music, Shudder is a strong album that once again proves Bayside’s immense talent.