No more pop punk comparisons or Braid parallels, just smart rock distilled through a library of Superchunk sophistication and Sunny Day Real Estate melodies.
Same delicate, shuffling chamber pop that brings to mind The Divine Comedy and Rachel’s (without sounding like either), but the songs are stronger this time.
Its caress is like a blossoming smile on a child’s face, or a car commercial showing a carload of people glad to be together, each lost in their own thoughts.
Dudes from Shai Hulud and Strongarm help, but new vocalist Jason Gleason more than fills (current Dashboard Confessional whiner) Chris Carrabba’s shoes.
Linking early ’80s punk rock, recalling second-rate greats of the day – Business, Cocksparrer – and redirecting with today’s take-to-the-streets revival.
What they did 20 years ago doesn’t translate on new machines. They need new approaches & techniques to achieve the violent emotional explosions they used to.