Save The World Lose The Girl,
Midtown
Yes, I am totally aware this has been reviewed before, but for me that review was absolute bobbins and as it is actually more than 7 years old I felt it was about time to try and do this album justice. Put simply, I am a huge, huge Midtown fan. Fuck Cobra Starship, fuck Senses Fail and fuck any other project any of the band have gone on to form (except I Surrender Records 'cos that's actually done really well, ha) - Midtown are the real fucking deal. When Gabe Saporta spits 'God I wish I could hate you for the rest of my life' I like to think he's sticking two fingers up at himself for selling himself short with that snake band, time travel stylee as if he was in Bill and Ted. In Bill and Ted's own words this album is 'bodacious'. Dude.
Released at a time when New Found Glory, Fenix Tx and Drive Thru Records were breaking pop-punk into the mainstream, this is one of those genre defining albums that captures the mood of a generation. It's one of those albums from that golden era that still sounds fresh eight years after it originally came out. And while the band, I'm sure, believe their later work is better (and to a point it probably is), Heath, Tyler, Gabe and Rob never sounded fresher, rawer or more passionate. It's poppy, melodic and full of hooks, but 'Save The World...' just has something extra which sets it apart from most contemporary pop-punk albums. Having three-way vocal harmonies helps, sure, but the vocal delivery on 'Just Rock n Roll' and 'Recluse' is spot on. It's pissed off, sure, but it's believably pissed off.
'Let Go' still sounds huge, 'Another Boy' is short and sharp but it's 'Such A Person' which still gets my blood flowing when I'm driving to work in a morning. And the Kiss homage at the end is still utterly seamless; literally pop-punk perfection this is the song which, for me, kids nowadays should be forced to listen to so they can appreciate just how good that 2000/1 era was. If you weren't there at the time you missed out, big time. 'Save The World...' is 12 songs of brilliance, it's poppy yet lyrically sharp - I just wish they'd put any differences to one side, drop the apparent egos and go back to doing what they clearly do best.
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