Look, before we get started, let’s just talk about the song “Itching Balls.” It’s exactly what you think it is. The lyrics talk about the peril of having short fingernails and itchy balls that they wish they could rub on the wall but can’t because they’re in public. I was prepared to give this band an “okay but not for me” review, but then this testicular gem came on. It’s completely out of place in this record and has to be one of those stupid throwaway songs that bands write when they’re just getting the creative juices flowing. We’re definitely not looking at high art here. The vocals are auto-tuned as fuck. It makes me wonder if the singer is actually hitting any of the notes he’s going for, or if it’s all thanks to pitch correction. Not at all what I would have expected from the disaffected-looking band photo on the back. You can tell they mostly want to be pop punk because so many of the songs are angry at women and whine about unrequited love. Though “Always” is actually a pretty tender song about being in love, so they have some range. It gets a little church revival/worship music vibes on their song “LOL.” Basically, this band has no clear idea of what genre they want to be, and are using the spaghetti method: throw it all against the wall and see what sticks. I would love to see a solid through line on their songwriting decisions because there are some tracks on here that have potential to be bangers. But instead, it’s just kind of a mess. –Kayla Greet (Hicktown / Cargo)