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I’m not entirely sure what Madina Lake’s “From Them, Through Us, To You” aspires to be. On one hand it’s incredibly creative. These songs don’t just have meanings, they have themes, and the album collectively tells a story. Music with that kind of agenda (known or not) has to be greeted with optimism. It’s refreshing to have someone put actual art in the mainstream media in today’s world. On the other hand though, it’s incredibly confusing and there might be too much work involved for the listener to get the full experience of Madina Lake. The band’s official ecard is at http://www.wheresadalia.com . The card tells the story of the disappearance of a young woman named Adalia in the quiet 50’s mountain town of Madina Lake. To date, the first chapter and the first webisode is up now. And while the card is entertaining, it’s also confusing. My advice to you is if you’re really into this band wrap yourself up in that ecard, the story, and the band. If not though, forget it exists and just enjoy the music. The album itself isn’t bad. It’s not the best I’ve ever heard, but it’s far from the worst. There are some songs that fail like “Stars” and to an extent “River People.” But it’s mostly filled with songs that can hold their own, like the single “House of Cards” and the second track on the album “In Another Life” just to name a couple. Everything on the album moves incredibly well, and whether they set out to sound like it or not, Madina Lake is a successful blend of old-school pop-punk (eerily similar to Fenix TX’s “Lechuza” in places), and the new school blend of emo rock. Everything else aside, the music is good. There are some weak moments on the disc but only a few. This is a great debut on Roadrunner for Madina Lake. With this band’s creative drive, they should keep growing and growing and in a few years everyone should know who Madina Lake is.