Shortly before
Chapters was released,
Forever Changed announced that they were breaking up, thus giving the album's already rather bittersweet songs a slightly more melancholy edge. But bittersweet and melancholy don't mean morose, and in fact
Chapters rocks out as hard as ever, with a melodic sweetness that occasionally brings to mind
Watashi Wa ("Never Look Down") and regularly brings to mind
U2 (note the especially
Bono-esque vocals on "Starting to Sink" and the especially anthemic "Refusal"). Unlike many Christian rock bands,
Forever Changed do actually sing about something other than Jesus and conversion, which is nice: "All I Need" seems to be about a breakup or a prodigal friend, while "Starting to Sink" describes the plight of an alcoholic slowly losing everything he once had, and "Letting Go of You" seems to be an expression of romantic commitment. It's too bad that
Forever Changed didn't stick around long enough to completely digest all their influences, and it's too bad they never outgrew the lazy emo cliché of constantly using the word "this" to refer to some undefined problem or issue. But they sure had developed a great sound by the end of their time together. ~ Rick Anderson