Pop emo hasn't gone very far in the last few years. Basically, a band will come out with one sound, become successful, and then it will be regurgitated by a bunch of mediocre bands. Of these two groups, Terminal isn't an originator... To give them credit though, they're not as bad Hawthorne Heights, or other crappy pop emo bands, but the whiny vocals and the fact that most of the album sounds like a b-side to Underoath's They're Only Chasing Safety (the first track "Wisher" is a perfect example) except with no screaming and a slightly more annoying voice, makes How the Lonely Keep leave a little to be desired. Sounding like Underoath isn't a bad thing, but having nothing but negative separating their sound from them is.
How the Lonely Keep does have a few standout tracks, "Dark," "Miss Louisiana" and "City by the Sea" are enjoyable in their own right, but nothing else has a lasting effect on the album. Terminal is another victim of AFS (Album Filler Syndrome). Like almost all pop emo bands, Terminal does little but re-hash cliches and have repetitive choruses that bore.
If one really enjoys pop emo, How the Lonely Keep is a fair enough release to be enjoyable, but otherwise, I'd pass.
1.5/4
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