Review Summary: Fantastic release all the way through from a great up and coming act.
Scarlett Avenue is a band local to my hometown. The members are friends. All feelings aside I can honestly say that this album is a definite scene setter for the San Diego scene. I can also say with confidence that it is (or at least should be) a scene setting release for the pop-punk scene.
When I listen to pop-punk I am looking for something more than fast beats, breakdowns, catchy choruses, or overly angst ridden lyrics – I look for a personal connection. I prefer vocals to be different and recognizable. I can accept the fact that I probably take a laughable genre of music far too seriously, but I feel that an infinite amount of releases aren’t taken nearly as seriously as they could be. Pitchfork has been putting the ‘emo revival’ scene into its catalogue, reviewing bands like ‘Dads’ and ‘The Hotelier’. I just wonder when the mass public will realize that pop-punk isn’t the thing that Mark, Tom & Travis made it to be in the mid - 90’s – dog farts, sex positions and poop. I can only hope that the public would pick up on acts like ‘The Wonder Years’, ‘Modern Baseball’ and well, ‘Scarlett Avenue’. The band truly puts in every ounce of their collective creativity, and flawlessly blends their obvious influences together in a 44oz Jamba Juice Smoothie Cup of emotion, lyrical insightfulness and the occasional fun track.
The album successfully takes its listener on a roller coaster of song variation – the fast, standard pop punk song is definitely present – especially in the single and album opener ‘Repetition’. Lyricist and vocalist Josh Dubois has excellent vocal range - croony and melodic with the right amount of grungy –even able to be soft if needed (can even hit the falsetto). The bands influences are obvious – The Wonder Years and Relient K are some that first come to mind. But the band brings several surprises to the table – evident on the song ‘Remedy’ where a totally unexpected (but warmly welcome) La Dispute type breakdown is introduced. “To whom do I owe the pleasure, for this constant reminder of what I’ve done” – Dubois screams at a nearly deafening (and most likely vocally wrecking) tone in perhaps the best moment of the album. The range of songs on the album don’t stop here. During later tracks in the album, the bands obvious love for the recent Emo-Revival scene is shown with intricate guitar riffs akin to ‘American Football’ or ‘Tiny Moving Parts’. The band doesn’t change style however – they still keep the pop punk in every song no matter how twinkly the riff is. They incorporate gang vocals, catchy choruses and the like into even the quietest, emotional songs. As the album comes to the final few tracks, ‘Silver Linings’ kicks in second to last. The songs intro is similar to the intro of ‘The Downfall of Us All’ by ‘A Day to Remember’, but what I can only describe (reluctantly) as being pozi as hell. I’m personally not a fan of the ‘mega-pozi’ pop punk scene – the over the top high pitched singing, the thoughtless lyrics. Bands like ‘Handguns’, or ‘Major League’ demonstrate what I hate in pop-punk perfectly. That style does have a foothold in this song, but I can’t help but enjoy it. The chorus is well written, and the bridge is explosive. ‘I know it’s normally my job to tell you everything’s ***ed up, not today, I’m feeling great’ - is an excerpt from the chorus, and is a great example of how you can be happy, but not too annoying in pop-punk.
The one and only gripe I have with this album would be the tracklisting. It seems like it’s split into two parts. The first half being straight pop-punk, the second half being slow and twinkly. It may be how they intended it, but it seems monotonous through my eyes.
In the end, if pop-punk is your thing, or if you like checking out smaller bands, Scarlett Avenue is by far a wonderful band to be in your radar. The album is perfectly written, emotional without being gimmicky and overall - fun. Each song brings something different to the album as a whole, and the final song ties everything together with poise and perfection.
Suggested tracks:
• Repetition
• Weeks
• Remedy
• Counting
• Closure
The album is on iTunes, Amazon, Bandcamp and Spotify.
