There’s a catch when your first full length is a classic: how do you follow it up? Even if you come back with something just as great, even if the aesthetic is a little different, you’ll still get, “Well, it’s no FIRST record…” I bring this up because it’s easily been D4’s greatest obstacle over the years, all of their output getting “But, Midwestern Songs, dude,” which is pretty cheap. For once, I will buy the “This is way more polished” argument, but at this point, I can’t help but find it a reminder that at heart, this is a pop punk band with a full-on Motörhead attack (and nuts the size of grapefruit). And while, yeah, it isn’t Midwestern Songs, you’d have to be a jerk to deny that there aren’t a handful of new classics on this one.
–joe (Fat)