Hallelujah, the great pop-punk revolution is here! With amazing releases from the likes of Fallout Boy, Race The Sun, Valencia and Cartel over recent months, The Audition have thrown their hats into the ring in a bid to be crowned kings of the genre. Pop-punk isn’t usually something you associate with Victory – which was previously a hardcore label but has migrated into more melodic territory in recent years – but this release shows the A&R people there still know how to sniff out a good tune.
‘Controversy Loves Company’ isn’t the best record of the year – in places it’s a bit dull and predictable – but on the whole it’s an exciting listen with plenty of good songs. Danny Stevens has the perfect vocal for this kind of music, while his bandmates churn out a number of catchy riffs and harmonies that will have you singing along with gusto. ‘Dance Halls Turn To Ghost Towns’ is a classic in the making, while ‘Approach The Bench’ has a chorus you’ll want to sing along to for days.
The Audition do lack the cleverness or lyrical sarcasm that the likes of Fallout Boy manage to pull off with vigour, but in the plain old catchy stakes they’re not too far behind. At times the band kind of stray off into generic territory – Don’t Be So Hard’ sounds a bit familiar, for example – but then tracks like ‘Lawyers’ sound like Over It and make you realise just how fun this record is. It certainly isn’t groundbreaking or new, but it’s catchy and a lot of fun, making The Audition worthy of checking out.
www.theauditionrocks.com
Victory
Paul