Album Review: Sing It Loud

In before the flood of “OMG, Epitaph are totally shit because they sign bands that don’t sound like Pennywise, OMG”. Good, now that’s out of the way we can talk about Sing It Loud, a fantastic little pop group straight out of Minnesota who’ve been making some serious waves across the US of A, and on the back of their Epitaph debut - Come Around – it isn’t hard to see why. Taking their cues from current scene darlings All Time Low, SIL have crafted a highly enjoyable record that overcomes its lack of originality by delivering feel-good, memorable songs.

The synth laced intro of “I’ve Got A Feeling” sets the tone for the remainder of the record. If you’re in search of some deep and meaningful musical message then you need to keep looking, however you’ve come to the right place if short and sharp pop numbers are your thing. Although “We’re Not Afraid” follows the same musical template as its predecessor the vocal contribution falls a little short, but you need not worry, as the follow up (the album’s title track) picks up the slack and shows why Sing It Loud have made such an impact in such a short amount of time.

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Much to the dismay of my workplace colleagues, “Don’t Save Me” is the kind of song that burns its way into your consciousness upon the first listen… tough days if sugar coated pop-rock isn’t your bag, but what can you do! “Give It Up” doesn’t have the same instantaneous appeal as the aforementioned track however it’s slightly restrained delivery does show off a different side to the band’s still developing songwriting, while “MPLS” showcases one of the group’s strongest choruses to date!

“No One Can Touch Us” isn’t as energetic as the previous tracks, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just would have been cool to see Sing It Loud keep up the momentum up through the record’s mid-section, though “Marionettes” does make a valiant effort at picking up the pace again. The soaring vocals of “Over You” are sure to be staple of SIL’s live show, while “Fade Away” continues in a similar fashion, leaving the ridiculously catchy “Best Beating Heart” to close up shop.

There’s definitely a few filler tracks on offer here, however taking into account the band’s age (average of nineteen) and the fact that this is their first legitimate release I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be hearing a lot more from the Sing It Loud camp over the next few years.