Labels: Boss Tuneage
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Shortcut to Newark? Who would want to get there more quickly? It is more likely to be: “500 mile diversion just so I can avoid Newark”. Anyway. Enough wittering about obscure English backwater towns. How about the music? Will you be taking a shortcut to your turntable to put the needle back in motion? Or will you run away screaming with your hands clasped firmly to your ears?
Neither. It’s not bad. And it’s not great. Or as that dude off Catchphrase used to say “It’s good but it’s not right”. I wonder why on Catchphrase that they never actually used this catchphrase as the one that the badly drawn cartoon robot would depict? I am feeling tangential tonight. Anyway, again. They lay down four songs of utterly straight forward and pleasantly melodic indie pop/rock. It is as offensive as your grandmother (unless your grandmother is 5 time winner of “Sweariest Granny in Stockton”), and basically it sounds like when the Get Up Kids went bad (i.e. sometime between the first two albums). This also means it sounds like a knock-off of Superchunk. It’s not bad in any regard, it just amiably ambles through the middle of my brain and out the other side leaving me thinking “is that it?”. And yep, that’s it.
Friendly, happy, catchy, tuneful indie pop. Some people love that kind of thing, and if you liked the 2nd Get Up Kids LP (loser), I dare say you’ll like this too. You’ll probably like Newark as well.