The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - X’s For Eyes (2025) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – MySpace era survivors and perennial comeback kids – aren’t going to end up Face Down any time soon. A seven year absence has brought us to ‘X’s For Eyes’, a record that puts us back in touch with our inner teens. It would be tacky for the RJA to make the kind of music they were pushing at the turn of the millennium, but the spirit of adolescence tangled up in the distance of time oozes from their sixth album. They’ve grown up, but not for a second forgotten where they came from.

Ronnie Winter’s mind is occupied with love, loss and appreciation for the things in life which only reveal their relevance once they’re past. “Loving you is the hardest thing I’ll ever do,” he implores on ‘Home Improvement’, an outpouring of devotion through the lens of DIY. It’s a song that could easily fit into the blink-182 back catalogue with its simplicity of purpose and arching image to sweep all into one ball. Reflections on delayed significance powers the dark times and skater energy of ‘Bad Beat’, as well as the drifting, emptying lament of ‘Slipping Through (No Kings)’. A contemplative edge to their punk style marks a gorgeous update for the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. The nuanced emotions surrounding processing the past are what takes ‘X’s For Eyes’ to a level beyond much of their recent output. ‘Twenty Hour Drive’ takes us through the endless thoughts tracking through loneliness with one heck of a classic drumbeat, to deliver us to the acceptance that seeps from ‘Kins And Carroll’, a testament to lost friends. Of course we’ll be clamouring for the big hits when we next see Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, but we’ll also be reminded of the passage of time while we’re slamming.

The songs most rooted in the present day, such as ‘Worth It’ – which sees Craig Mabbitt of Escape The Fate jumping in on guest vocals – bookend ‘X’s For Eyes’, keeping all that nostalgia in check with a dose of trap beats and layers of victory. Opener ‘Always The King’ sees Sleeping With Sirens’ Kellin Quinn dropping by, setting the tone for the record; we’ve made it, against all the odds, and we’ve got anthemic choruses and riffs aplenty to celebrate. Both these songs make for a compelling frame, but we’re here for the skate park philosophy and bouncing through a lifetime in punk rock that shouts loudly across the remaining nine tracks.

By skirting past their more emo edges (only ‘Purple Halo’ really seems to fit the label, but then again, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus never really slotted themselves neatly into any sub-genre description) and focusing more clearly on their pop-punk roots, the band have delivered a thoughtful, crashing record that feels as much a summary of their status in 2025 as it does new music. “I don’t do perfection,” Winter sings on ‘Perfection’, and the retained roughness makes their emotional journey feel that more immediate.

While the aging-punk-looks-back trope has been done so many times across the scene in recent years, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are doing it with heart and care, without ever sacrificing the fangs of their hard-forged sound.

Tracklist:
01. Always The King (feat. Kellin Quinn) (00:03:15)
02. Purple Halo (00:03:38)
03. Perfection (00:03:18)
04. X’s For Eyes (00:02:56)
05. Bad Beat (00:04:31)
06. Slipping Through (No Kings) (00:03:22)
07. Home Improvement (00:02:55)
08. Twenty Hour Drive (00:02:58)
09. Kins and Carroll (00:03:11)
10. Getting By (00:03:28)
11. Worth It (feat. Craig Mabbitt) (00:03:25)


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