In a world where bands form and subsequently break-up in the course of a weekend, in a time in music where a band will have MySpace, Facebook and Twitter accounts before even filling out their lineup, in a time when bands will talk the ear off of anyone who will listen about how “hard working they are”, it’s refreshing to know that there are still acts that would prefer to get it right rather than get instant gratification. Acts who understand that “working hard” does not necessarily mean “working smart” – bands like Philadelphia, PA’s WITH LIFE IN MIND.

It’s that singular-mindedness that sets WITH LIFE IN MIND apart from many up-and-comers. Instead of a ‘perform-then-perfect’ attitude, the band made conscious choice to make certain their songs were finely-honed before unleashing them on the world.

”We spent an entire year writing and practicing in the same room before we played a single show,” explains drummer Josh Ireson. “If we felt a song wasn’t good enough, we worked at it until it was or we scrapped it completely and started over. As individuals, we’re not the kind of people that do things half-way and that has rolled over into this band. We’ve always understood that we only had one chance to make a good impression on people, so we made sure we did everything we could to make that first impression the best one.”

It’s that type of perfectionist attitude – that drive to never give less than 100% - which has caused WITH LIFE IN MIND to create ripples so quickly. In the less than two years since the band’s public unveiling, WITH LIFE IN MIND has performed all over the US and Canada, self-released an EP titled “The Human Condition” and recorded their debut full-length – the culmination of the band’s “get-it-right-the-first-time” attitude, entitled Grievances.

Expertly produced by Carson Slovak of CENTURY (Prosthetic Records) and ARMSBENDBACK (Trustkill Records), Grievances packs a metaphorical (and nearly literal) punch. The album, a haymaker of heavy riffing and relentless, thundering power tempered by an underlying melodic nature, represents all of the tumult and passion behind the album’s lyrics – a no punches pulled diatribe about society’s blemishes.

“Our lyrical content has always tried to embody the band as a whole, and this album is no exception,” Ireson says. “As the album began to take shape, it was obvious that lyrically this was not simply a collection of eleven individual songs, but rather a list of things that Justin (Kraus, vocals) felt were important to us - things that motivate us and make us hope for change. We began to view the album as a laundry list of things we personally take issue with, and at that point there was only one obvious choice for the album’s title.”

While WITH LIFE IN MIND might have grievances to air in a Frank Costanza-like manner, one thing they can’t take issue with is the fact that their “get-it-right-the-first-time” mentality is paying off in the form of a monster debut.