Smile Empty Soul recorded one of the best albums of 2003 in my opinion. When I first heard their single "Bottom of a Bottle", I couldn't wait to hear the rest of their cd. And even though "Bottom of a Bottle" is probably the most overplayed rock song of 2003, it still rocks. This album starts off amazing, with the first 4 or 5 songs being top notch. It kind of loses some steam in the middle, picks back up for a couple songs, then loses more at the end. But overall, this album has it all. There's heavy songs, slow songs, everything you could want in an alternative rock album. If you like this album, I suggest also checking out a couple more new bands, Die Trying and Echo 7. If I had to compare Smile Empty Soul with someone, I'd say they remind me a lot of Hoobastank, Incubus, Audiovent, Die Trying, maybe even a little Three Days Grace. My favorite songs include: Bottom of a Bottle, Silhouettes, Nowhere Kids, and All My Problems.

01 - Bottom of a Bottle - 5/5

I decided to purchase this CD after watching the video clip of the song 'Nowhere Kids' and this song touched me. 'Smile Empty Soul' is a band of 3 young men who share music with soul, passion and compassion. This CD begins with the front 6 songs that are quite easily hits. And infact the songs 'Nowhere Kids', 'Silhouettes', 'This Is War', 'For You' and 'With This Knife' are simply special in their own right. All the songs have meaningful lyrics that are moving and amazingly touching. The first song is truly emotional dealing with a parent who is a alcoholic. Many kids unfortunately deal with this situation in their early lives, parents who are alcoholics. I can relate, my father died of alcoholism. But the most poignant song was 'Nowhere Kids', third song in that deals with Abuse of kids within a family environment. 'This Is War' deals with the lead singer's thoughts on war and its consequences on individualism. 'For You' is a more of a serenade than a song that deals with unrequeated love. Many of us have faced that gambit.

'Smile Empty Soul' has simply packed their debut album with songs that mean something to them and it is unique that all three band members wrote the songs in this album release. They wanted to reach out musically to all who are effected with these issues and tell them their is hope. All the songs are done with a heavy rock setting and the music sound melds perfectly with the lyrics.

Excellent CD and I would promote this CD to one and all.

Smile Empty Soul's self-titled debut album is a refreshing sound to all the familiar pop sounds that are heard today. They have the perfect combination of hard rock and melodic tracks for an album that's worth listening to from start to finish.

Their lyrics are probably what stands out the most. They are very raw and passionate and have a sense of vulnerability to them. They speak about life and growing up. "And what did you expect a perfect child raised by TV sets" are some lyrics from "Nowhere Kids", a song that reaches out to a young generation who doesn't have a place. And the songs "Therapy" and "Silhouettes", among others, describing parents who force to much on their children. To the chilling "This is War"; not too many rock bands out there nowadays write about their political views and what's going on in the world, so it's nice to hear what some of the younger people feel about what's going on.

To go along with the bands hard, honest lyrics is an exceptional instrumental sound. Throughout the album their sound is very strong and unique. Especially apparent in songs like "Every Sunday" and "All My Problems".

Overall this is a great album to have and is definitely one of the best so far in 2003.

I have loved the self-titled debut release from Smile Empty Soul from the moment I first heard it. It's easily one of the top albums of the year 2003. I especially like the lyrical aspect of this album from the young new rockers. Every song is filled with emotion that lets the listener in on what they have been through in their lives. Rather than writing about things that have no relevance, every song is meaningful and the message is sent out using their unique style of rock. I couldn't find any song on the album that I didn't like, but a few of the tracks that grabbed me were "Silhouettes" (track 2) and "Nowhere Kids" (track 3). I think this album is going to stay in my cd player for a long time to come and I highly reccomend it to virtually all rock fans.

i love this cd i bought it knowing bottom of the bottle but then i listened to the other songs and they were better! i listen to this cd all the time and it reall helps you get over hard times cuz the lyrics are ones most teens - young adults can relate to and it has a good beat and the lyrics are just amazing ...i totally recommend buying it!