This is really, really good. I know that may come across as a little surprising, and as the label has put out records by The Get Up Kids, All American Rejects and many, many more in the past, I guess I shouldn’t be shocked. It’s just usually bands of this type – pretty much just straight melodic pop punk bands – find their way to Fearless or Fueled By Ramen on the identikit band conveyor belt and get lost in the internet created hype they appear in. I hope The Status do things more organically because they deserve the success this record should give them. It’s rare bands write good, solid albums from start to finish these days but this is such a record – pretty much every song could be a single.
Guest spots from Anthony Ranieri and Adam Lazzarra beef things up, but truth be told they aren’t the stars of the show. The album’s title track is a stunner, ‘America’ reminds me of Sugarcult back in the day and ‘Waiting’ has a catchy, crunchy guitar riff and some very sweet vocal melodies. It isn’t anything new and this genre has a number of bands fighting it out, but this record is one of the best of recent times. If you like just plain and simple catchy melodies and singalong choruses then chances are you won’t find better all year.