The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: X’s For Eyes

Best known for their hit single ‘Face Down’, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are back with a brand-new album titled ‘X’s For Eyes’, out October 3. It follows 2018’s ‘The Awakening’ and 2020’s ‘The Emergency EP’ making this their first new record in over five years, and it’s safe to say, the wait was well worth it.

I’ll start this one off with a spoiler: it’s all killer! It’s absolutely great from beginning to end. It’s loud, it’s fast, it’s punk, it’s metal, it’s emo, it’s screamo, it’s pop (in a good way!). It simply never gets boring!

The album starts off with ‘Always the King’, featuring Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens, who fits seamlessly with Ronnie Winter’s vocals and the band’s overall sound. After just 20 seconds, you can already hear the direction this album is heading. ‘Purple Hill’ follows, bringing strong Thrice vibes — a welcome influence, especially for fans of both bands. The guitar work by Josh Burke and Randy Winter really stands out here.

Clustered in the middle are the more radio-friendly songs, three of which have already been released. ‘Perfection’ feels like a natural choice for the next single: less aggressive, but built around a catchy melody and an emo anthem-style chorus. It’s followed by ‘X’s For Eyes’, ‘Bad Beat’ (the longest track at 4:32), ‘Slipping Through (No Kings)’ and ‘Home Improvement’, which was the first single released.

The album continues with the faster, tempo-changing ‘Twenty Hour Drive’, when I first heard it, it reminded me so much of another band, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Turns out the band I was thinking of was actually TRJA themselves.

‘Kins And Carroll’ delivers the essential heartbreak ballad — and let’s be honest, a song like this belongs on every album in this genre, even if it ends with “I still love you.” ‘Getting By’ then gives you one last chance to catch your breath before the album’s closer, ‘Worth It’, featuring Craig Mabbitt of Escape the Fate. It’s an absolutely loud, screaming banger, mixing genres and vocal styles in a way that makes you wish the album didn’t end just yet. But after 37 minutes and 5 seconds, it’s over. Luckily, you can always start again at track one.

Unfortunately, I’ve never had the chance to see or photograph The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus live, and oddly, they never quite blew up here the way they did in the US. Maybe the name’s a bit of a mouthful? Still, with this album, they’ve got everything it takes to finally win over European audiences and I really hope they will bring ‘X’s For Eyes’ across the pond. In the meantime, US fans can look forward to a whole string of upcoming shows.