Labels: Dr Strange
Review by: Ian Cavell
Now this album is a real tough one to review. The older Zoinks! songs that I’ve heard have all been great so I was expecting great things from their latest album, ‘Well & Good’. You could hear standout track ‘Wooden Nickel’ or the effervescently happy ‘Well & Good’ and jump to the conclusion that this Zoinks! album was a masterpiece. Or you could listen to the rest of the album and be a little disappointed to find a pretty average pop-punk album lurking beneath the gloss of a handful of decent songs.
Songs like ‘The Camper’, ‘Static’ and ‘Spotlight’ just nestle so comfortably in the little niche reserved for average songs. You press play, you listen, nothing. Pop-punk really needs to do more than this.
Its a shame because unlike your typical pop-punk band, Zoinks! aren’t afraid to experiment a little with the odd acoustic track and instrumental making an appearance. And some of tracks are quite good, like the Green Day-esq ‘Neighbors’. The sad fact remains I could copy about 5 songs from this album onto a tape and never really be attempted to go back to listen to the rest.