First impressions are not good. The cover is terrible. The album name is terrible. Then open the box, the cd is pink. The inlay card is pink. The bit behind the cd is pink. Are PTX trying to tell us how in touch with their feminine side they are? Gnewikow should be ashamed at this design, he’s normally so good. I guess they roped him in because of the None Left Standing connections. But I’m not going into that, as NLS have absolutely nothing to do with PTX beyond a band member. And where’s the damn lyrics?
Ok, lets play it. Hey! The first song sounds like the it should have been on the 3rd Promise Ring album, if only the P-Ring decided they wanted to make a less immediate progression from Nothing to Very. Bouncy bass and everything. Oh my, now they are carrying on in song 2. But I am having 2nd thoughts about the vocalist now, and how about this terrible line “Oh boy you think that you’re so cool, you’re a fool”. It’s just that the singing is sounding so wrong. The guy often sounds disinterested instead of upbeat and excited, as befits the music. OK, I’m getting the picture. This is mainly good ole danceable emo pop mixing up Braid and the Promise Ring with some indie rock thrown in for good measure. You’ve got this album already. Not that it’s bad. It’s certainly got more to offer than any of the Sunny Day bands, but then again I always preferred this style to SDRE anyway so perhaps that’s not a surprise. I also figured out why there is no lyric sheet now. Because often the words are terrible.
It’s not quite the record I was expecting after their promising debut CDEP. It’s got that much needed production, but it lacks the spark. I guess that if you love the Promise Ring and Braid (like me), you will at least *like* Paris, Texas. Can’t say fairer than that.