However their new record sucks. The vocal harmonies are awesome and are at least on a Destiny’s Child level. No doubt about that. But the guitars, especially the leads have a metal sound and the whole production sounds like either the band or their producer (Matt Hyde, who already worked with Slayer and Monster Magnet) thought it might be a good idea to jump on the pseudo-screamo train along with bands like My Chemical Romance. No, it isn’t. The very rare bright spots are the moments where the band focuses on plain melodicore. The rest, including the cliché-ridden artwork, is just blah that nobody needs.

It is cool that Fat Wreck sticks to their bands, especially to those who have really been doing good stuff at some point of time. But it is totally not cool that some bands seem to exploit this and keep releasing while there is nothing left that is worth being released. What the info calls “their steadfast ascent” in truth is their total dissolution in meaninglessness.  [jan]

www.strungout.com