By Eileen Fortner, Contributor 

[10k Projects; 2024] 

Rating: 6/10

Key Tracks: “Take It Or Leave It,” “Problem” 

No! We are not talking about the social and economic state of the country right now! We’re talking about the hit indie pop-rock band that we all know and love, COIN. COIN just released its fifth studio album I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore and it is safe to say that after their short break from music and touring, they are so back! 

After COIN’s fourth studio album Uncanny Valley and their tour that followed, they found themselves a bit lost in the mess of the music industry. At this point, I think it is safe to say that their art felt more like work, and if you ask me that is any artist’s worst nightmare. Uncanny Valley was an amazing album with a bit of a different vibe than I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore, definitely more experimental and it worked out for them wonderfully. This time, the band decided to kick it back to their early days, giving us more of a pop sound for the most part.

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Getting to the gritty parts of this album, let’s start with “It’s Hard To Care About Everything.” What a great way to pull in a listener with the beauty of an amazing bassline. Zachary Dyke put his whole heart into this album and you can hear it, not only in this song but in “Along For The Ride” as well. We can’t talk about this album and not mention the vocals within; these vocals have a range that keeps the listener engaged, especially with “Slack.” Thank you, Chase Lawrence! I’m Not Afraid Of Music Anymore has amazing transitions from song to song. There’s virtually no silence, and it’s on to the next. This makes the album feel more like a whole piece that you can’t break up, and that in itself is extremely powerful.  

The entirety of this album felt familiar and easy to listen to. To a lot of listeners, this could be great. However, I think this may have led some of the songs on this album to be rather lackluster. For example, songs like “Blueberry Smoothie” just felt like something was missing. Although a lot was missing when it came to this album, the song that repaired a lot of these feelings for me was “Problem.” Genuinely, I think this is the best song on the album. The hard(er) rock sound that we are given has strong potential, and I hope COIN runs with this in the future. “Problem” is different from any other song on this album; it is catchy and loud and has me begging for more! 

COIN is back, but not with their full potential. This album reverted back to their early days, which can work out for a band, but maybe not in this case. A lot of great things happened on this album, but a lot of mediocre things also happened. They have room to do their growing (yes, this is a reference to “Growing Song”) and truly I think that this new sound they are yet to discover is something none of us are going to see coming. 

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/album/0iYfLtcJwYEl23TtnwTibd?si=Rb9iT6SzT-awc7dveoRZGA