With each listen I become slightly more enamored with this album. I can’t think of anything more positive that I could say about music; an album that gets better with age? You sir are a liar!

The first thing that struck me about the Chinese Telephone’s first full length is how well it works as an album. By themselves, most of these songs are great, but the way they are put together on this album gives them something extra, what I’ve heard you might call “je ne sais quoi” (thanks Dr. Frank!) It almost feels as if you’re listening to a live set from a band who perhaps puts a little too much thought into what songs would sound best next to eachother, what song would best open the set, and what would be a great closing song to leave the people wanting more.

The song writing on this album is exactly how I like it. They manage to do a lot with a little, using basic pop punk song writing to make something original. Even if I can only make out a line or two in each song, I enjoy the mix of frantic vocals with the more melodic, singalong parts. Songs like “Stay Around” have a more straight pop-punk feel to them, while songs like “Tell Me Tell Me” feel a little dirtier, which is assisted by the overall sound of the album.

Aside from great songs the overall feel of the album is what propells it from good pop-punk, to a great album. I recomend getting your hands on this as soon as you can so you can really start to love it in a couple of weeks.

Top Tracks: Tell Me Tell Me; Back to you Again; Keep Smiling