By John Bedard
This is definitely not an album I would have picked out for myself but I am happy that it landed on my desk. Taking on a very standard indie pop-punk style reminiscent of Washington state coffee shop culture there really is not anything groundbreaking here or even all that new but rather this is a pretty good example of a solid offering in the genre. While it is not really my style and it is not something that I will go back to all that often myself, I know a lot of people that would put this album on repeat and I enjoyed my visit to a genre that normally gets overlooked in my mind.
The musical style reminds me a little bit of the softer, more emo, tracks from Dashboard Confessional with a bit more indie and less punk, not that Dashboard Confessional is all that punk to begin with. We have a subtle low distortion guitar tone that is typical of that indie style with a very melodic arrangement that is somewhat repetitive but in a pleasant, non-offensive, way. It is rather refreshing as a chill-out style of sound. Really calming with the lyrics covering rather sad topics.
Speaking of the lyrics… I’m not going to talk about them because with the content being so heartfelt I think it is best you hear it from them rather than me. The vocal style though is probably the best aspect of the album. We have that nice back and forth of male and female vocals that make the wonderful contrast that artists have been using since the beginning of time to drive music. Each vocal style wonderfully complementing and contrasting each other giving every track a wonderful depth.
Every track has this wonderful depth of emotion to it that is really a joy to be a part of. Really the only negative I have is that the chorus of ‘Crybaby’ gets a little bit annoying but if my only gripe is about one song I would say that is pretty good. I do think that this is worth your time. I don’t think it will convert you totally over to the genre if it is not already one of your favourites, but it is a lovely example of the genre and is definitely worth a visit. Give this one a go. I don’t think you will regret it. For those of you that can’t get enough indie emo pop punk then this is a must buy.
- ‘New Ways Of Living’ is released on 3 July. You can get your copy HERE.
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