Review Summary: Claws you're worth it
Sincere Engineer have been making a name for themselves in the pop punk and 'emo' adjacent scene for close to a decade now, with their last record 2023's
Cheap Grills marking their arrival as a band worth following. Not only did it see main woman Deanna Belos make serious improvements in her singing but also a markable step-up in song-writing to deliver a number of bangers and ear-worms which became hard to get out your noggin.
For those new to the band, they sit in that intersection of pop punk and emo, with enough roughness around the edges to be....well, sincere. Being proud Chicagoans, the heartland rock influence also shines through often.
Now a name band in the scene, the follow up
Probable Claws continues that level of quality. This is what makes pop punk fun - guitar lead, infectious hooks, and big singalong choruses. At it's best, it's reminiscent of the genre's best. Underpinned by driving drums, the songs are often energetic and Deanna cements herself as one of my favourite front-people in the current punk scene. Whilst her singing has improved, she maintains enough rawness and rasp to be gloriously imperfect. Her song-writing is pop punk 101, often deprecating herself as often as she takes aim at former lovers, but there is something undeniable novel about hearing these tropes from a female voice.
Her song-writing shines on tracks like lead single
'Twist My Tongue', lamenting her ability to speak up against a ***ty ex, and
'Fast Forward, Rewind', using watching a movie over and over as a metaphor for another doomed relationship. These are 2 of several bops with explosive, anthemic choruses that are as well composed as they are snarky.
Probable Claws is not all bangers however. There are many tracks which lower the energy or strike a more low-key tone, and these songs are largely forgettable and more run-of-the-mill. Particularly
'DNA' and
'LOL' lose some of the momentum of the first half of the album before
'Fast Forward, Rewind' cranks it back up.
'Settle Up With Your Downfall' also has one of the weaker choruses and feels like a case of trying to fit too many syllables into the lines.
But these weaker moments can be tossed aside or simply bared, as the highlights provide enough ear-worms to keep this in the win column.
Probable Claws is another fun, if uneven, release from one of the best pop punk bands going today.
SCORE: ★★★1/2
HIGHLIGHTS: Twist My Tongue, Cooler, Pilot Light, Fast Forward, Rewind, Hallucinogenic
FFO: The Menzingers, PUP, Spanish Love Songs, The Lawrence Arms
