I've banged on many times in the past about how close Pop Punk is to Power Pop. If you lose the robotic talky vocal for something more melodic, at times as if by magic, you have great Power Pop. Joy Buzzers' debut album is a great example of this. The songs become les aggressive and far more melodic.
I'm certainly not having a go at Pop Punk, we cover enough of it here to prove that. But Shake On It! is so much fun, surprisingly lyrically adept and not afraid to divert from the template. Riffs are aplenty and there is a real say what you wanna say then get off, something more bands should do.
13 songs in 30 odd minutes is just dandy. You can listen to the album twice in just over an hour. People will bring out Weezer comparisons, when labelling the Chicago Trio, but truth be known, they are closer to a less serious Material Issue.
The longer songs work just as well as the shorter ones, they just have more to say or play. For example, Dusk is wonderfully different to what surrounds it, slower, darker, more Indie Rock. Similarly, Bleed For You is a sped up joy, wonderful Power Pop.
Call Of The Wild has the urgency of the UK 1978 has Punk crossed over to New Wave. There's even Ska here, Brass and all on Naomi. The strength of the band is that they can mix the good time, this is us, witty stuff with songs of depth that belie their ages.
This week has been a real week of great debut albums. This is another as good as any of them. Beautifully performed Power Pop with a real sense of melody. In the wrong hands, this could have been woe is me Slacker Rock. This is exactly the opposite and thus absolutely splendid.
You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on CD and as a download.
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