Evan Thomas, better known as TX2, is a highly controversial figure in the alternative scene. His provocative nature has given him infamy in online spaces to the point where his music has become a bit of an afterthought to some. His debut album, End of Us, dispels some of the accusations of him being a ragebaiting one trick pony due to the sheer amount of variety on display.
Tracks like ‘Nice Guy’ deal with his reputation and outside perspectives on him while showing off his abilities as a rapper. It could be considered a bit cringe, but that’s arguably his greatest strength as an emo artist. The whole genre was founded upon being the outsider. Not even TX2 would classify himself as a spiritual lyrical miracle, but there’s some solid stuff and the Ekoh feature helps the flow of the song.
The features throughout the record work really well, with the likes of Deathbyromy on ‘Hostage’, a high point of the record. Black Veil Brides also feature on the title track and album closer, a grand epic complete with huge guitar work and duets with Andy Biersack. There are times where he’s a little bit overshadowed, like on ‘MAD’, which features Spencer from Ice Nine Kills. It arguably leans a bit too hard into the INK sound and comes off like he’s a feature in his own song.
The middle portion of the record on tracks like ‘The Resistance’ and ‘6 Shots Left’ sonically invoke the likes of System of a Down with its use of unconventional structures and highly political themes. It sounds like he’s on the right side of history, and the strange little details like ‘The Resistance’ having an interpolation of ‘Sway with Me’ give it that extra bit of kick and uniqueness.
End of Us is best consumed in pieces. A big problem with the album is that it covers too many different styles instead of nailing one specific sound. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword that there’s so much variety. It makes for an interesting listen the first time, but subsequent listens may have you skipping around to your favourites. That’s an issue with TX2 being a fairly new project, but that will hopefully change with future projects. My personal highlights are the heavier metalcore tinged tracks like ‘Die Alone’, but the most surprising standout was ‘Lost Souls’, which taps into the My Chemical Romance/Hazbin Hotel ragtime style.
It’s not a perfect record and Evan still seems like he needs to work out the niche he fills outside of ragebait, but as far as modern emo music goes, you could do far worse. The big question to ask yourself when listening to this record is “do I dislike the music or do I dislike Evan as a person?” Both answers are valid, but it’s important that you don’t get it twisted. Also no, it’s not album of the year, but this ragebait stuff is powerful, no?
