Album Review: Across The Atlantic - 'Works Of Progress'

It's almost a little too easy when a band titles a record of theirs in a way that perfectly sums up the quality of the release itself. Then again, saying that Across The Atlantic's new album is a 'work of progress' would be a gross overstatement, as that would imply that any sense of actual progression was A) put into their sophomore album and B) will then actually be found anywhere on this damn thing. So, yes, there is indeed a dizzying long way to go yet before this Netherlands band and generic pop-punk/easycore/melodic hardcore sound hits anywhere close to being 'good'.

Now, I'm confident that when Across The Atlantic took these songs to their poor producer and/or unfortunate engineer and were what references they had, the five-piece proceeded to screech loudly at them while hurling A Day To Remember's entire discography right at the people going to produce this woefully bland album. Because, really, that is all that this record is: an incredibly egregious A Day To Remember rip-off. Seriously, just a single listen to songs like 'Cutting Corners' and '24 Hours' and tell me that that shit isn't just seemingly reused ADTR songs and ideas.

From overused power chords and generic chugs, occasional moments of melodic hardcore thrown in cause why not, breakdowns we've all heard a million times before, sappy and over-generalised teenage-focused lyrics, the Jeremy McKinnon-jacking, pitch-corrected cleans and screams, typical pop-punk gang vocals, to the song structures and overall production; there's not one original idea nor one original thought been put into this subpar clone of a record.

With a weirdly short 'Prelude' track that should've just been axed and stitched together better with 'Playing For Keeps' to make for a far more seamless flowing start to this record, this 11-track release nosedives into being as basic-bitch as pop-punk and easycore could ever regrettably be. The already long outdated songwriting formula that Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals, Veara, and to some extent New Found Glory glossed over, jotted down, and used to strong effect many years prior gets depressingly dragged up here as Across The Atlantic repeat themselves (and their heroes) musically over and over for a good ten or so tracks. Then it all gets expectedly capped off by the cutesy acoustic title track that builds into this "heartfelt" and "massive" anthem that'll probably end most of their live sets for the foreseeable future. Because of course it fucking does. Because that's how these kinds of accursed records go. I can strongly guarantee that many of you have heard this sort of pop-punk record many other times over the years and I ask that you take my review as a dire warning to listen to something better. And while it is quite possibly very lazy of me, trying to talk in-depth about this record brings me great internal pain, second only to actually listening to 'Works Of Progres'.

Finally, these guys are on SharpTone Records so that means they'll probably be around for a while longer to bore us all to death with their unoriginal, grossly repetitive songs, sadly. Oh well, hopefully, that new World War Me record won't completely suck...

The first ever time I heard 'Works Of Progress' was on a morning drive to work one day and I don't think I've started a work day off in a more displeased mood.  Simply put, Across The Atlantic are the awful ADTR clone that no one asked for or needed.

Avoid this record like the crazed ice head that walks around outside your place late at night, loudly complaining about their family’s weird-ass problems.

1. Prelude

2. Playing For Keeps

3. Sundress Funeral

4. Cutting Corners

5. Chin Up

6. 24 Hours

7. Word Of Mouth

8. Self (less)

9. Starting Over

10. Blind Eyes

11. Works Of Progress

'Works Of Progress' is out now. (Don't) stream it below. Also, Across The Atlantic is a shit band name.