I don’t have it in me to hate on SET YOUR GOALS. These guys have been on the preferred plan at Pastepunk HQ for more than five years now, and frankly, I’d clutch a copy of This Could Be The Death of Us to that remote desert island we’ve all thought about. The changes brought to life on Burning At Both Ends could have been seen from 10 miles away and in some sense, are both cliche and admirable. More melodic, more structure. The haphazard SET YOUR GOALS has left the dock. I’d readily accept all of that but for a nagging sense of disappointment on slower, mid-paced songs that fall flat from disposed energy. SET YOUR GOALS can still rip – “Unconditional”, “Raphael” and the appropriately named “Start the Reactor” impress with racing percussion, stinging guitars, and urgent lead vocals. Urgent. Even so, the cleaned-up band reminds me now of FOUR YEAR STRONG, whose most recent full-length has all the hallmarks of a McDonalds assembly line. Burning At Both Ends has a hardcore foundation that’s been buried under a desire to maximize a pop-influence to up the memorability of the material. Unfortunately, the band overshoots peak returns. Nowhere is this more obvious on the corny (but memorable!) “Product of the 80′s”, which might even roll the eyes of BOWLING FOR SOUP. Holistically, on Mutiny! and This Will Be The Death of Us, SET YOUR GOALS sounded like a band that was so manic on getting everything off their collective chests, they could barely contain or organize their abject enthusiasm.  Burning At Both Ends simply can’t compete.