My father once said, “It’s in the ugliest places, where we find the most beautiful treasures.” Sometimes, I find myself repeating this quote when I come across a band, album, or even a song that comes, somewhat, out of nowhere, among a sea of trashy bands nowadays. So enters the young Columbus Ohioans, My Ticket Home. Hailing from a state where some of metalcore and post-hardcore’s finest originate, My Ticket Home set themselves out to attempt a status similar to their predecessors, with their sophomore effort, To Create A Cure. Coming from a big fan of their Rise Records debut, The Opportunity To Be, I thought this album was a good continuation in the right direction. The album opens up with the debut single, “A New Breed”, which tosses you right into the balance of cleans, screams, and solid instrumentation, which is prevalent throughout the entire album. Fans of their debut will recognize their trademark clean vocals, a decent standout compared to the rest of their fellow Rise entourage. This should also come as a surprise to those who haven’t been monitoring the band as of late, because this is NOT their original clean vocalist from TOTB. Derek Blevins is the new clean vocalist/rhythm guitarist, and yet, his vocals are almost identical to original clean vocalist, Sean Mackowski. Considering how unique Mackowski’s vocals were, it’s a good thing they found someone to follow the style. Following suit, is “Who Is 67?”, which opens with some solid riffs, followed by a flurry of drum work and screams, courtesy of Nick and Marshall Giumenti, respectively. Although not a very standout track, the vocals and melodic instrumentation balance it out enough to be enjoyable. Track 3, “Atlas”, emerges with a more melodic beginning, followed by a teeter-totter effect between Nick and Derek, giving the song a little more depth than their others. The next track is one of the most melodic songs on the album, “The Truth Changes If We Both Lie”. Derek dominates most of the track with powerful lyrics, and equally powerful vocal chords. You’ll find yourself bobbing your head and truly connecting to this song, with how catchy and deep it truly is. Hell, they even threw in a short guitar solo to boot, which shows that they have some ability beyond their chugs and chords. “Beyond” is a track that many won’t expect. The song opens like an interlude, with a very indie-like guitar opening. But out of nowhere, it falls into silence, and you’re met with powerful screams and bouncy riffs. “Motion Sickness” grabs you initially with snare work from Marshall, and Nick’s screams, now dissonant, make him sound as though he’s giving a speech to an angry crowd, followed by deep vocals and a thunderous breakdown that encompasses the entirety of the 2 minute moshfest. “A Thief Of One, A Thief Of Many” presents itself with gang vocals, and pounds away with the prototypical My Ticket Home balance of screams and cleans, making it less of a standout. “Awake : Create” follows the same way, not standing out very much. It felt like filler to me, which is a disappointment. Upon clicking the “skip” button, in enters “The Dream Code”. Very similar to the title track from their debut EP, this song features emotional cleans and atmospheric piano, and I find myself drawn back into the experience. Though not as powerful as the aforementioned track, it serves well in providing more melody to the album. Second to last track, “Dark Days”, is what I would like to call “a kick in the teeth”. Filled with low open chords and strong vocals, this song will do well in putting the moshers out on the floor during their live sets. The album closes with “Fear Complex”, which is opened with the sound of Nick in the background, screaming out of anger, and destroying his surroundings. Then the balance returns, with less emphasis on instrumentation and more on the vocal duo. The song closes with a breakdown, and Nick throwing one more object, breathing deeply, then it fades. I took the time to point out each song, because one theme seems to really occur in this album. Balance. The album doesn’t sway one way or the other for very long. Some tracks are powerhouses due to the screams, others are dominated by cleans and melody, but the rest are perfectly equal, which as a whole makes this a very balanced experience. I’d say balance more, but I’m pretty sure if I said it again, I’d get jumped by tight rope walkers. Although this album is good, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. If you dig Attack Attack!, you’ll probably dig these guys. Which should be of no surprise, seeing as how Caleb Shomo produced this effort, as well as their previous. Let it be known though, these guys are NOT Attack Attack!. I feel that they’re a fair bit better than AA!, in fact, just because of natural talent. They’re not going to be stealing the limelight, but to anyone who enjoys a good melodic, balanced album (oops), give this a shot. You might find yourself jamming to it more than you’d think. 
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