They say the destination is never as important as the journey you take to get there. Try arguing that with Ben Leibsch. The singer has been the primary singer, songwriter, and the face of You, Me, and Everyone We Know for about a decade, and the journey the band has taken him on has been a winding, difficult one. The destination has been changed, altered, reexamined, and nearly given up on on several occasions. Yet Liebsch, two years removed from having every member of the band leave him--for the second time--has continued to churn out material, albeit at a much more low-key rate than fans were hoping for after the solid following built by the band's first and only full-length to date, Some Things Don't Wash Out. After last year's three-song EP A Great Big Hole, Liebsch discovered there was still interest in the band, and fans discovered that the journey of You, Me, and Everyone We Know hadn't ended. Which brings us to the band's new four-song EP, I Wish More People Gave a Shit.
Before delving into how good each individual song is, let's air something out very quickly: the title of this EP is not a whining complaint about the band, like most will likely assume (they're probably the same people who thought Fall Out Boy actually sought out to Save Rock and Roll). Rather, it's Liebsch's analysis of the world around him, and in his own tongue-in-cheek way, he's saying that there isn't enough being done to improve. This is readily seen is "Better Men," which finds him analyzing the victim-blaming, slut-shaming society that has developed. "We call ourselves 'better men'," he sings, "As we watch them ruin daughters like that," and then continues in the song "Proper ladies don't get to have fun,/ they just lost self-control/you shouldn't have dressed like that." The lyrics are biting, and any male listener will be forced to examine his own actions, and wonder if Liebsch is talking about him when he sings "There was more you could have done."
Liebsch is also seen attacking the complacency and laziness of some in "I'd Contribute More Dead," a pop-punk track that will be pointed to as the most nostalgic track of the four-song set. Here, he looks back at the "decade-long walk" his mind has taken on the journey of You, Me, and Everyone Know. Overall, the track finds Liebsch in a state of confusion as he tries to find his footing in today's music scene, and even today's world in general. The sociological investigation makes its way to consumerism on "The Big Mistake," where he examines the spend-spend-spend mentality of the average American. "I've made a big... no, WE'VE made a big mistake, and we keep paying for it," Liebsch sings as the song builds to a raucous, loud ending. Working alone just as he did on A Great Big Hole, Liebsch enlisted help from the EP's producer Trevor Simpson to provide the instruments on the songs. Simpson will likely not get too much of the spotlight (let's face it, much of the appeal of this band comes from Liebsch's songwriting abilities), but he does a great job of creating backdrops for the lyrics Liebsch has concocted to come forth and shine properly. The EP ends with a short track called "The Winds Won't Change," which features Liebsch playing a ukulele, the only instrument he is credited with playing on the entire EP. The closer is a somber number that has a hazy bar feel to it, much like the short track from the band's So Young, So Insane EP "A Symptom." The track ends with the audible sound of pages turning, and it's a perfect way to end this snapshot of the current state of You, Me, and Everyone We Know: turning the page, and moving forward.
The Bottom Line: Another year, another solid EP from You, Me, and Everyone We Know. Though the fact remains that no one knows the destination Ben Liebsch is headed towards, but as long as the journey sounds this good, there should be plenty of people who are willing to come along for the ride.
Recommended if you rock: Valencia, Transit, Mayday Parade/Go Radio
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