Tender Forever

The third full-length from Tender Forever opens with a hesitant tiptoe on "Got To Let Go," in which singer Melanie Valera works up the courage to let somebody leave her life while trying not to be scorned by their departure. It is tender indeed, and one can't help but feel the vulnerable shake in her voice as her goodbye unravels. After awhile though, this literal nature loses its honest, heart wrenching novelty and becomes too overtly personal. The same can be said for "Nowhere Good Enough," which keeps the lyrics so light that they start to resemble the tearstained pages of a 17-year-old girl's diary. Draping the lyrics in a pretentious metaphor or two would benefit these songs, as well as "Like the Snare That's Gone," but "Nothing At All," a rising symphony of synth, makes better use of the intimate subject matter and is conveyed with triumph, a theme that Tender Forever might consider swapping in to replace the melancholic meltdowns that this album is made up of.