3.Chasing My Tail The beginning of song three, "Chasing My Tail," mirrors the intro of "Marshalltown," from Modern Life Is War's 2005 album,Witness. "Chasing My Tail" begins with a single guitar playing a slow, droning progression. The instrumentation creates an evocative soundscape, bringing forth images of grey winter afternoons of thoughtful reflection. Once Eaton enters and begins singing, the lyrics tell the story not of a winter afternoon but of a humid summer evening spent contemplating one's life instead. In this way, "Chasing My Tail" acts as an emotionally powerful, eight years later companion piece to "Marshalltown." Eaton sings, "I've come of age / the money must be made, the bills must be paid. I live hand to mouth and simplify/ the things I can't afford to lose have multiplied." The young man who was driving around his hometown on a cold winter day eight years before as heard on "Marshalltown" appears to have grown up and is facing the realities of adulthood on "Chasing My Tail." It's a haunting expression of lived in despair and an album highlight. Once the bridge section of the song arrives, the band grabs hold of the listener by surging into double time and ends the song with the thrilling refrain of "Scrape and crawl to gain position / chasing my tail in the land of competition."
4. Media C*nt The band rides the momentum from the end of "Chasing My Tail" straight into song four, "Media Cunt." They keep the tempo brisk as Eaton creates a grotesque image of the media industry spreading infectious ideas and world views like a disease with lines such as, "So little room to exist between the honest truth and a crippling worldview. Decadent, begging for pleasure / like a druggie on a hamster wheel begging for forever." The band punctuates Eaton's scathing commentary with a musically exciting song. The guitars slash with ragged octaves, the bass thumps out muscular lines and the drums keep the tempo fast and the impact powerful with each hit. The song is a much needed shot of punk energy that keeps the album moving forward.
5. The Blind Are Breeding The band slow down their pace once more on "The Blind Are Breeding," but the slower tempo actually works to the benefit of this song and the next. The band meander along slowly which affords them the time to create some interesting, purely musical compositions, such as the interweaving guitar lines featured in the intro and the verses. The song also contains one of the most poignant lyrics on the entire album. When singer Jeff Eaton hoarsely shouts the line, "Nothing humbles the anger of youth like a few more years of truth," the listener can hear the resignation behind the words and feel the draining weight of reality settle down on the singer.