” – Juliette Nadia Boulanger

It makes sense that the members of the best post-hardcore/melodic rock band tocome barnstorming out of the Northeast in ages would draw inspiration from thisquote (from a celebrated French composer) and adopt part of it as theirmoniker. Conditions is all about choice, love and passion. Having cut theirteeth in heavier acts before coming together, the guys joined forces with theswift and decisive mission to explore broader creative terrain, to pour evermore devotion into their craft and to share it all with others.

The contemplative but catchy bounce of Jimmy Eat World, the esoteric but drivingatmospherics of Thrice, the dark experimentalism tempered by softsentimentality of Brand New and the soaring radio melodies of Foo Fighters andBlink 182 have all found a new home within Conditions, who have fashioned thisformula into something uniquely their own. With a passing glance backward and afull throttle charge forward, Conditions are taking melodic post-hardcoretoward the future with the stunning new album, Full of War.

The stage is set for a full-on salvo on the medicore and mundane. “The radio isfull of droning songs for lemmings that are about absolutely nothing,” BrandonRoundtree laments. The singer and the rest of the band defiantly stand apart,producing spirited anthems filled with meaning.

Thebest art stands for something. It doesn’t have to be political, it doesn’t haveto be divisive, but the best art has a strong point of view, take it or leaveit. Conditions posses a depth and artistry that is lacking in many of today’sbands.

Conditions creates music thatdemands further inspection. It demands listener attention beyond the surfacehooks. “We want people to start listening with their eyes, so to speak,”explains the singer. “To stop buying into what is being force-fed and to start re-growingthe ability to say ‘no’ to certain things; to have a musical opinion. Peoplejust blindly start to listen and blindly start to like certain things. It’sfrustrating.”

Inthe recording studio, interacting with fans and supporters or touring the USand Europe with Paramore, New Found Glory, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, SleepingWith Sirens, letlive. and on the Vans Warped Tour, Taste Of Chaos, atBamboozle, at SXSW, Conditions are always cognizant of the choices out thereand endeavors to offer something truly unique, invigorating and refreshing. It’sno wonder why Alternative Presscalled them a “Band You Need To Know.”

Roundtree’simpassioned pleas pull from the deepest recesses of angst and the highestreaches of optimism with one of the most distinctive and powerful voices ofthis generation of bands, in full partnership with exceptionally creativeguitarist/vocalist Alex Howard, fluid and dynamic bass player Corey Thomas andpowerhouse drummer Ryan Tinsley, who demonstrates high-caliber skillsthroughout.

Thanksto the extremely tightknit closeness of the Richmond, Virginia music scene, theConditions guys had shared stages together throughout high school. The futuremembers of the band coalesced together following the independent dissolutionsof their respective groups. Roundtree was in Forever and a Day with Conditionsfirst lead guitarist. Howard was in Motion Picture Demise. Two weeks afterRoundtree left the vocalist position in Scarlet, who had multiple releases withFerret Music, he got a call about a new project. “The idea was to make a bandthat that sounded like the sum of everything we had been doing, but benefittingfrom the lessons we’d learned along the way.”

ProducerBrandon Paddock - who has done various production and engineering work with TheUsed, Papa Roach and Black Veil Brides, among others – helped Conditions craftan album that is leaps and bounds beyond their already impressive debut, Fluorescent Youth. “We whole-heartedlybelieved in our last record,” insists Roundtree. “But then after we lived withit, we realized it was maybe a little ‘safe’ for us. We took that very much toheart and decided to showcase the fact that we are not a play-it-safe band.”

“AWonderful Lie” was a turning point in the writing, where the band realized theywere coming up with material beyond what they had conceived their ownlimitations to be. “Best Mistake” is one of the best examples of the album’ssense of adventure, blending a hint of electronic elements with astraightforward approach to love. “Long Division” is a slower song that delvesinto the human battle between believing in science and believing in God that israging now. The entire album, thematically, deals with duality and paradox.

“Lifeis a series of decisions and what are decisions but little mini-wars, opposingforces, pulling upon each other?” Roundtree explains of the album’s title.“’Full of War’ lyrically ties the record together literally andmetaphorically.”

Conditionsoffer uplifting, meaningful songs filled with heart, soul, spirit and most ofall, purpose. At the end of the day, they are a band who does exactly what theywant and steadfastly retains their identity. Their inner relationships arestrong, which has ensured their output remains topnotch. The world, the peoplewe know, they may all be Full of War,but art like this can help to light the darkness.