| There was a time in 2007 that the pop rock genre skipped a beat and changed for the foreseeable
future. The Maine
released their EP "The Way We Talk" and it became one of my favorite releases of the year. Now you
may ask me, "Wow skipping a beat? Changing forever? You honestly can't be serious about some rock
band." Well I am. The Maine may have the same foundation as some bands, but they are much different.
And their new album "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" is one of my most anticipated releases of 2008, so when
I got a chance to listen to it, I had to drop everything and toss in my two cents.
Even from the start of the album, The Maine take their unique style of tremendously infectious rock
and never stop, even into the early morning. Now I said that The Maine has similar foundations as
other bands, but the foundation is where the similarities stop. These guys not only stream addictive
body moving rock but the hilarious and highly memorable lyrics will keep you singing along for
hours. Never mind those who claim "these guys aren't talking about anything. it's just songs about
girls and hip nonsense." People that say that are pretentious assholes and can't recognize a good
time when they hear it.
Like The Maine's EP there was a high expectation put on this full length for it to be just as good
if not better. The quirky hip nature that led to lyrics like "She's fresh to death, she'll be the
death of you," still exist and are what a majority of the songs sound like. But for their full
length, a more mature love ballad structure has been added in place of the funny, which is a joy to
listen to as well.
No matter what anyone says, this effort is in the top album lists for this year. The guitars,
acoustics, pianos, melodies, and John O'Callaghan's vocals (which are some of the most exciting in
recent memory) are all the answers needed to tell us that "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" is great. Go out
the night before this record comes out and break into stores to grab a copy of this. (not really
please don't) But do understand that this record won't disappoint.
~ Pernell
July 01 2008 |
