Review Summary: Columbus’ debut album doesn’t do anything new, but is still executed well and is a really enjoyable listen for people who like Pop-Punk.
Columbus is an alternative/pop-punk trio hailing from Brisbane, Australia. In around 2013, the band self-released their first EP and, after a year, a second EP. Both of these were decent enough for the trio to get noticed by and signed to UNFD. Ever since, they’ve been hard at work creating their debut album. Their fruit of their labors, for the most part, is a pretty decent pop punk effort. In fact, I would say it’s one of the better pop punk albums released this year so far.
The band's brand of punk is of a similar flavor to earlier releases the last couple years by bands such as Like Pacific, ROAM and Broadside. If you like a plain description of their sound better, they utilize fast, simple guitar riffs and medium to fast heavy sounding punk drumming along with catchy choruses and verses. The vocals are the typical loud, shout-singing you’ll usually hear with these pop-punk albums. The singer’s voice is very accessible and works well with the subject matter and melodies on the record.
The main themes to be found here are, again, typical of most albums of this nature. Much of it is about a lover of the singer who he’s falling for or is angry at. The lyrics are actually not that bad and work well with the many melodies to be found on this record. The songs flow into each other very well and I didn’t feel worn out after a full listen or that any of the tracks were really filler.
Pop-Punk is tricky in the way that innovations in the genre are too far and few between. The difference between a good record and a bad record in the genre is how well the band playing can execute the melody, rhythm, lyrics, etc. Columbus’ debut does these things very well throughout the record, better than some of the earlier pop-punk releases this year. This is by no means an amazing record, but is a good and enjoyable listen for any fan of the genre.
