Record Label: Capitol Records
Genre: Alternative Rock
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

I was confused here. The band name sounded like they should be Springsteeny, the album title sounded like emo, and the album artwork looked totally granola-jam band. And this wasn’t any of those. It is the first album I can call alternative rock since the 1990s. Like seriously, these guys are right out of 1998.

Not that that’s a bad thing. They have the same sound that made bands like Nada Surf, The Age of Electric, and Spacehog randomly popular in the late 90s. But this is just about eight years too late. It alternates between quirky and quiet and catchy and loud; good hooks mixed with minimalist verses; interesting production and radio-ready choruses. Nothing to blow me away, but my ears weren’t hurting.

The band really just doesn’t have any audience available, which I think is their biggest setback. The vocalist has a fine voice, but even the songs that could be singles really don’t have the it’ that could make these guys anything more than local favourite (I don’t know if they are, but they got signed to Capitol, so who knows). But hey, if late 90s alterna-rock is making a return, it’s still a whole lot better than almost every other trend emerging these days. Seriously, those kids these days.

Bottom Line: Pretty decent, catchy and quirky, but lacks an audience to sing to. Alternative rock is so 1997.
Notable Tracks: Screamin, Waste My Life For You, Leave the Camera On, You Can’t Go to Sleep
Overall Rating: