Now, I am no music critic, but I thought this would be something fun for me to do and honestly give me something to blog about.
Now, I am mostly a Pop Punk guy, so if you give me suggestions in that realm I can actually go into a review and give it my best shot. If you give me something like Ariana Grande(someone who I don't really listen to) I will still do my best, but I don't know if you will get the right thing out of me, but it could also surprise me.
For each album, I will just go down through the track list before giving it my final review. I will also review each song on a scale of 0-5.
1.Criminal
So this is a very good song to start the album off on, it has high energy and it is a very catchy tune(also love the drums on this track). It is noticeably different for me than the other tracks on this album. Like every song on this album, the chorus is incredibly good. Lyrically, State Champs has never been known to be the best but this song gets by. All in all I do praise them for making Criminal #1 on the tracklist, as I can't really see any other song here doing it justice.
Rank:3.5/5
2.Frozen
So, I really like the intro to the song, and I really like the energy to this song. This song has the opportunity to get stuck into your head for a few days, but it sounds similar to most of the other songs on this album. Regardless, it is still solid.
Rank:2.5/5
3.Crystal Ball
When this was released as a single, I didn't really care for it, and I still don't love it too much but I have grown to be tolerant of it. The chorus, like many others, is a bit catchy but for me this song is still average.
Rank:2/5
4.Dead and Gone
This song is very catchy, but it is very different. It reminded me of 5 Seconds of Summer, and while I applaud them for trying to tweak their style a tiny bit(and the obvious "Ocean Avenue" styled video) this song is a bit too weird for my liking. The chorus is great, and I do like the bridge. Also, if you want a high energy song this is a good one to listen to. The lyrics aren't as bad on the rest of the album.
Rank:2.5/5
5.Lightning
I want to like this song, I really do, but it just comes off as generic to me. I really like listening to it, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't stand out to me. I often get it mixed up with Frozen for some reason, although that might be something that only I do. Still, very solid, but very forgettable for me.
Rank:2/5
6.Our Time To Go
So this song, is probably my favorite, for obvious reasons. Everything from the cheesy music video to the melody to the chorus, I love this song. I think it also differentiates itself. It is a bit cheesy, but that is what makes it a very fun song. Overall I think this is one of the better songs that they have made, and although it deviates from their normal style of Pop-Punk, I still like it.
Rank:4/5
7.Safe Haven
This is another song that sounds just like most of the others on this album, however I do have a special place in my heart for this song as I used it to recap our vacation(I made a little video collage of us having a great time all week and I used this song in the background). This is a fun song, and I am probably biased by giving it a 3, but I like it.
Rank:3/5
8.Something About You
Only Derek DiScanio can make a single letter sound so damn great. That is the highlight of this song, and I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Lyrically, I don't really like the song, and the chorus is a bit weird.
Rank:2/5
9.The Fix Up
It may just be me, but this song didn't really appeal to me. I thought it was bland. Yes, this song may appeal to those who like a more relaxed song, but I think they could've done it better.
Rank:1.5/5
10.Cut Through The Static
The thing about the back portion of this album, is that it gets so boring to listen to. The Fix Up isn't great and neither is this song. They both sound too bland and generic for my taste. I do like the Intro for this song, but besides that, there's nothing that really stands out to me(other than that this song is where the album's title comes from which kinda perplexes me).
Rank:2/5
11.Mine Is Gold
Again, it sounds uninspired to me. It is a single, but you wouldn't know it by listening to it. Then again, about 5-6 of these songs sound so similar it's hard to figure out how they chose their signals. This and Crystal Ball seem like they were just randomly picked to be singles. Now I am not ragging on this song or the band as I do love State Champs. This song can be fun and can be enjoyable, but it does fall victim to not standing out on the album.
Rank:2.5/5
12.Time Machine(ft. Mark Hoppus)
This song, oh no this song. Look, their style is insanely different here and I applaud them for that. They don't sound bad at all, if you like their more Punk sounding songs you won't like this song as it variates heavily from everything else on this album, and not really in a good way. That being said, I do love the vocals, it is easy to get lost in them. Mark Hoppus, I love ya man, but what the hell did they do to you on this track? Honestly, he kinda ruins the song for me. I think they auto-tuned the crap out of him which baffles me, and it is a wasted feature imo.
Rank:1.5/5
13.Sidelines
I like this song all the way, yes it does sound similar to a few others, but that chorus really gets me goin. I think the album could've ended on a stronger note, but that being said, it is still very solid.
Album:3
Algorithm:2.5
The album rating is my rating, the Algorithm's rating is based on the average rating of a song off of this album.
Album Review:So this album could've been better. It does feel like they took a step in the wrong direction with this album compared to The Finer Things & Around The World And Back. Almost every song on this album has a bangin chorus but most of them also have mediocre lyrics and a rhythm that seems like it is overused throughout the whole album. This album is not bad by any means, but it isn't the best either. I would give it a 3/5.
Songs I love:Our Time To Go, Criminal, Sidelines
Songs I don't like:Time Machine, The Fix Up, Something About You
So there is the full album review. Feel free to give any of these songs a listen, because these are just my opinion. I made the mistake of making this blog extremely late so it probably won't get any comments, but I don't really care, I just thought it would be a fun thing to do.
Also, pyn to get tagged/untagged in future reviews and also suggest some albums to me, old or new and I might end up doing it.
