This Spring Break, I had the opportunity to go to one of my favorite band’s concerts and also meet the band. Who is this band, you may ask? The Ready Set.

This band has been around for 7 years now and they have some pretty popular songs, such as, “Love Like Woe” and “Young Forever.” I know these names don’t sound familiar to you at first glance, but maybe if I link you to them, the songs might ring a bell.

In 2009, Fall Out Boy’s bassist, Pete Wentz, took a chance with 20 year old Jordan Witzigreuter and signed him to his label Decaydance. Witzigreuter, who goes by the stage name The Ready Set, had already self-released an album titled Tantrum Castle.

Fast forward to now, seven years later, and The Ready Set is more successful than he thought he would ever be. On April 8th, 2016, he released a new album after leaving his fans waiting for new music for 2 years. I Will Be Nothing Without Your Love is by far my favorite TRS album, really. (Don’t worry, in a week, I’ll say that it’s just as good as all the others and I will have a hard time picking my all-time favorite song by this band.)

I debated for a while whether or not I wanted this to be a track-by-track review or just an album review, in general. After thinking long and hard, I decided I’ll break down my favorite things about each one of the songs and give you a feel of my favorite artist. (Well, one of them, anyway.)

After two long years of waiting for new TRS music, I and the rest of TRS’ fans, got what we wanted.

Disappearing Act

This is the first song off the album and it has a really cool, “bubbly” vibe to it. The lyrics are meaningful and give TRS fans a little sense of nostalgia as it almost sounds like an old track of theirs.

I’m in the place where you found me
I hid away trying to chase down gold
But I became my surroundings (yeah)
She said “You’re disappearing act is getting old!”

I’ve always sat and wondered what inspires Jordan’s songs since a lot of the time his songs talk about some sort of heartbreak or some type of failed relationship. In an interview about this album, Jordan mentioned that “[he has] imagination and [writes] about sometimes [writes] about [his] friends’ failed relationships.” And the reason this really caught my eye is because Jordan has been dating his girlfriend, Katelyn Gentry, for over 10 years. It was a little odd to me that he wrote lyrics like this despite being in such a long relationship.

Being Afraid

Now, let me tell you about this song. On Saturday afternoon when I bought the album, I had already listened to four of the 12 songs on the album. So this song was the first one I actually listened to for the first time ever. I can’t lie and say I didn’t cry.

They say I’ve gone insane
We all get carried away
Am I the only one
Who’s chasing down the sun?
Cause I’m done being afraid

 The lyrics are empowering and when I first listened to them, I couldn’t help but feel like this song was written about me. As cheesy as it sounds, the lyrics–the chorus especially–made me feel like I should also be done being afraid of what anyone has to say about me or anything else that has to do with me. I should live my life how I want to because it’s my life.

Good Enough

This is the first song Jordan released as a single from this new album. When I first heard it, I was honestly slightly confused. It sounded waaaay different than his last album. And I know that artists change their sound every so often, but I was not expecting such a change from this album. “The record as a whole feels like a reinvention of myself,” Jordan shared in an interview with JustJared.com

“All that I wanna do
Is just be good enough, good enough, good enough for you”

In a tweet, Jordan also answered a fan’s question about what inspired this song to sound the way it does: “I was just feeling like a beach bum.” Now, this may seem a little confusing, but to me, the song does sound beach-y. It sounds like he used seashells and bubbles in the background to create the sounds you hear. All in all, this song really cheers me up.

Concrete

Alright, now this song is probably one of my honest-to-God favorites on the album. When I first heard it, I felt my heart swell up as the opening lines were sung. Just like “Good Enough,” this song sounded different. Jordan’s voice was much deeper than I ever imagined it could get.

“Concrete strapped to my feet
Tossed out into the sea
Why you gotta scream at me
When everyone is listening”

The upbeat music that fills the air takes away from the powerful words behind the song. I honestly can’t even put into words how this song makes me feel. All I know is that, the day after I bought the album, this is the song I memorized the lyrics to first.

I Will Be Nothing Without Your Love

When I see a song on an album that shares a title with the actual album title, I get so excited and I set my standards high. For the most part, I am not disappointed. This song can definitely go on that list, too.

I was caught by surprise with this song. Jordan released it the day before his album came out. A video accompanied it, too. Now, the video isn’t captivating, but boy, do I love this song.

“I will be nothing without your love”

You don’t necessarily have to be “in love” to understand this song. You can just spend a few minutes with some headphones in your ears, listening to the melodic flow that is being transmitted from your phone to your brain.

The lyrics, the chorus, the beat, they pulled me together without me even knowing I wasn’t okay. Jordan’s voice sounds raw and this is the kind of song that makes you sit and wonder how that specific beat/rhythm even went with the words and harmonies an artist is singing.

Don’t mind the odd attire, just listen to the song. You won’t be disappointed.