Album Review: Broadway Calls - Comfort/Distraction

After Oregon punk rock trio Broadway Calls released an EP in 2011 that didn't quite stack up to the quality on 2009's Good Views, Bad News record, it was crucial they pulled themselves back into the game with their next release. But approaching album number three with no label, there seemed to be little hope.

With the triumphant release of album number three, Comfort/Distraction, Broadway Calls have surfaced from what could have been their demise with their best release to date, and also one of the best punk rock releases of the past few years.

Not only did they manage to put together a killer album without a label, their self-funded project saw them returning to The Blasting Room (Rise Against, NOFX, Alkaline Trio), to work with Descendents' Bill Stevenson, who engineered and produced Good Views, Bad News.

The best way to describe Broadway Calls in their current state is two parts punk, one part pop and a sprinkle of rock – something along the lines of a what Green Day would sound like today if they hadn't gone horribly wrong. Comfort/Distraction contains 11 heartfelt tunes that anyone can relate to because they're widely open to interpretation, without being too vague. They have worked with such a formula in the past, and mastered it on this record. Although they signed to No Sleep Records for its release, Comfort/Distraction is hard proof that punk bands can succeed without labels in the current musical climate.