Album Review: We The Kings - 'Sunshine State Of Mind'

We The Kings self titled debut was already standing very close to the line between acceptable pop-punk and Top 40 rubbish, now the band are up to their third album, 'Sunshine State Of Mind,' and the line is well and truly out of sight.

“Pop-punk” is no longer a term that can be associated with this group, this is evident upon hearing the opening tracks to the new record, Friday Is Forever and Say You Like Me, both of which are acoustically driven and contain some of the lamest, sappiest lyrics ever recorded.

What could well be the final nail in this band’s coffin, and is in my opinion the defining reason why this record is a waste of time, is the fact that the album was produced by S*A*M & Sluggo, the producers responsible for Metro Station's Shake It, who are for some reason still walking around as free men.

There are certainly some catchy chorus lines to be found in amongst the many doo-wop style chants, but tracks like the un-ashamed radio pleaser Sleep With Me, are so un-forgivable that this record will find its way to my trash bin upon completion of this review.

If I had to pick some bearable moments from the album I would name The Secret To New York which captures something similar to the flair found on the debut, and the bonus track Summer which is the only thing on the record that comes close to conveying the album’s title. The catch of course being that you need to sift through terrible attempts at ballads such as The View From Here to actually get to it.

The record ends on another weak ballad attempt, this time with a string section, You And Only You, which is about as believable and emotional as that Britney Spears movie ‘Crossroads,’ which I haven’t seen.

After hearing ‘Sunshine State Of Mind’ I personally will never bother listening to any future releases from We The Kings and it would not be surprising if whatever is left of the band’s fan base has the same reaction. Now we can only hope that even the radio is smart enough not to play this music.

1. Friday is Forever
2. Say You Like Me
3. Every Single Dollar
4. View From Here
5. Secret to New York
6. Sleep With Me
7. Over You
8. Kiss Me Last
9. Somebody to Call My Own
10. You and Only You