Audio By Carbonatix
The first two tracks of this album, “My Shell” and “Poor, Poor Vivian,” wouldn’t be out of place on a far-better-than-average pop-punk album. “Green Eggs and Ham,” meanwhile, is obviously influenced by early-’90s grunge, but with more power-pop flavorings — gritty like Cheap Trick could be in the early ’80s, and just as willing to take chances in establishing a heady rhythmic dynamic. The second half of the album is reminiscent of Happy Days-era Catherine Wheel, with a romantic and introspective tone best exemplified in songs like “Anything.” In a way, these songs and the order in which they appear represent a bridge from songwriter Andy Tanner’s past in the punk-inflected band Laymen Terms into his present as the writer of lush, almost orchestral rock songs with some backbone.
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