I’ve had this album for at least two months, and I’m still having trouble reviewing it. There’s something that bothers me a bit about it, but I’m not sure why. The Loved Ones want to take their tightly honed poppy punk in a bit of an Americana/Springsteen direction, but not really. There are some slower jams that fail to evoke much sympathy from me, and some slightly bluesy stuff, including a song where the only lyrics are, “They’re poundin’ nails in Louisiana, they’re poundin’ nails.” Okay, but what’s the point? The anecdotal pop punk songs do a bit more for me, but not enough to really justify themselves. I dug their first record, so maybe next time.
–guest (Fat)