Over It "Silverstrand" CD
[Lobster]
I'm a sucker for this stuff when it's done right, and these kids do it right in my opinion.  I'm talking totally poppy radio emo sounding stuff with some old school pop-punk influences peeking through on occasion.  A little cheesy, but definitely catchy, and I'm all for that shit.  You know, two-and-a-half to four-minute songs, verse/chorus structures, big time sing-along choruses, plenty of changeups between clean guitars and distortion... all that jazz.  You've got purely no frills catchiness like opener "Siren on the 101", speedy pop-punk cuts like "Ignore the Noise" that are totally taking a contemporary spin to the classic Fat Wreck formula perfected by bands like Lagwagon and Strung Out way back when, and then you've got songs like "Waiting" that blend the two styles together pretty god damn well for my money.  I mean, the silly aspect comes into play because you've gotta figure that young girls eat this shit up, which makes it a little hard to take, but these dudes are just far enough over onto the "credible" side of the fence for me to really dig it.  They definitely test my limits with sappier numbers like "Shine" (Can't you just tell from that song title that this one's just screaming for mainstream radio and MTV to play it to death?) or the more "rock" styled "We Are the Ordinary", to the point where there's one certain super-mega-huge band out there that I'm almost remiss not to mention as a loose comparison (especially vocally), but... I know that if I did everyone would stop reading this review immediately, and it's not a close enough call to warrant taking that risk.  I think these dudes would be a stronger band if the strayed away from a little more of that uber mainstream junk, but what can you do?  I'm seriously stunned that these kids aren't already on a big ass label raking in the dough off this stuff.  The sound quality's good for me.  The guitars could use a little more clarity or brightness, but the rhythm section is nice and punchy and the vocals sound ridiculously slick and polished, which is of course critical with this kind of stuff.  I definitely don't have any complaints with the recording on this outing.  Design-wise there's something about the cover I really like, I don't know, it just looks really good and the band logo totally pops out, which is always nice.  The inner pages are a little more chaotic but it all tends to look pretty strong.  Like most bands of this nature it's all about catchy songs, not so much the lyrics, so this is one of those cases where I'm pretty indifferent and nothing really catches me, though of course things could be far, far worse, so screw it.  "With a tense wrist you turn the page, Treading the dice you cast away, What is there left to laugh about?  I doubt it's what you wanted..."  The thing is, there's a reason why bands like this are popular, and it's because it's hard to deny the hook factor to a chorus like the shit these cats are cranking out with "Take a Look Inside", because even if a song's not that hot... by the time that chorus rolls around for the second or third time you're fucked... you have to admit that it hits you a little bit - for better or for worse.  And I fall for that shit all the time.  I have no shame.  I don't care at all.  I like this.  Sue me. (7/10)
Running time - 34:06, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Siren on the 101, Waiting, Ignore the Noise, Take a Look Inside]
Over It - http://www.overitonline.com

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