Release Date: July 17, 2007
Record Label: Capitol
Choice Tracks: Light Up The Sky, Five Becomes Four and Cut Me, Mick
Review: Paper Walls should be described as a mingling of the band's previous material. The band has re-grouped with just enough One for the Kids (drumming and lyrics), a pinch of the Underdog EP (melodies), a healthy filling of Ocean Avenue (style and feel), and a tiny portion from only the best parts of Lights and Sounds (instrumentation). It was redemption for their former fans however with the pop-punk scene dying this album unfortunately buried Yellowcard for a few years until they made their aspiring comeback only to call it quits this year.
Release Date: May 22, 2007
Record Label: Hopeless
Choice Tracks: You're Only Young Once, Summer (In B) and Follow Your Dreams, Forget The Scene
Review: As much as Amber Pacific have similarities with other power pop/skateboard punk bands, their music has sonic wails and tangling coordinates that are truly of their own making. Their music has charisma and strength, exuberance and contrasting textures that give their songs character. Amber Pacific may have left us too soon however their 2 Hopeless releases will keep us reminiscing about the good old days.
Release Date: February 6, 2007
Record Label: Island
Choice Tracks: I'm Like A Lawyer With The Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You), Thnks Fr Th Mmrs and The Take Over, The Breaks Over
Review: How do you follow up such a ground breaking album such as From Under The Cork Tree? You don't play it safe. You continue to thrive and improve and with Jay-Z's blessing that's exactly what FOB does with Infinity. It doesn't come across as well as Cork Tree did, but it's about the closest they've come to it in the last decade plus of albums.
Release Date: January 22, 2007
Record Label: Victory
Choice Tracks: Monument, The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle and Here's To The Past
Review: A Day to Remember have quite the multiple personality. One second they're blasting the most melodic pop-punk this side of NFG, and the next, they're channeling the depths of hell with acerbic growling and heavy breakdowns. And this is all in the same song. Somewhere an As I Lay Dying fan is dating a Fall Out Boy devotee, and they're in desperate need of a compromise album. For Those Who Have Heart could very well fill that void.
Release Date: September 25, 2007
Record Label: Hopeless
Choice Tracks: Six Feet Under The Stars, Holly (Would You Turn Me On)? and Dear Maria, Count Me In.
Review: All Time Low don’t rewrite pop-punk rules by filling their records with dramatic musical innovations or profound personal revelations. But the thing All Time Low does well is write pitch-perfect pop-punk anthems designed for sunny days at the beach/mall and evenings under the stars/influence they do really freaking well.
Release Date: September 18, 2007
Record Label: I Surrender
Choice Tracks: Bada Bing! Wit A Pipe!, Beatdown In The Key Of Happy and Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
Review: The main theme of this album is that it's all supposed to be a lot of fun, and they have certainly achieved that goal. Some say it's a shame they went away from their uniqueness and went more cookie-cutter on ''Enemy Of The World'' but I disagree. This album had it's share of bangers but I feel FYS has evolved quite well and I would prefer EOTW as well as their EP to this springboard album even though this will always be how many people first heard and fell in love with Four Year Strong.
Release Date: June 12, 2007
Record Label: Fueled By Ramen
Choice Tracks: Misery Business, When It Rains and CrushCrushCrush
Review: I come to the question whose answer I have been mentally debating for the last few days. Is Riot! better than All We Know is Falling? The answer is probably a no. All We Know is Falling just seems much more innocent, emotional and probably better written. Like maybe popularity and money have taken away something Paramore used to have. But Riot is still mega catchy and sugary sweet.
Release Date: September 25, 2007
Record Label: Epitaph
Choice Tracks: War, First One On The Blog and Eighty-Eights
Review: Some bands want to rock your socks off, while others, like Farewell for example, want to take the place of the rocket pops you used to get from the ice cream man when you were a kid. ISN'T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN, an appropriate title for this candy colored treat of an album, is synth-greased power pop for people who liked the Rentals better than Weezer. Singer Marshall Davis and the tight pop harmonies of the group combine to create bright, breezy tunes that remind the listener of all the fun they've had (and should still be having) while listening to music.
Release Date: July 10, 2007
Record Label: Fearless
Choice Tracks: Champagne's For Celebrating (I'll Have A Martini), Walk On Water Or Drown and If You Wanted A Song Written About You, All You Had To Do Is Ask.
Review: Every song is spectacular on this album and is a potential hit. In fact it was hard to narrow it down to three for the Choice Tracks. And even when I did I was shocked at all the great tracks I left off! The perfect hooks and lyrics just keep coming in this album.
Chiodos - Bone Pallace Ballet
New Found Glory - From Your Screen To Your Stereo Part 2
Anberlin - Cities
Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light
Say Anything - In Defense Of The Genre
Relient K - Four Score And Seven Years
Silverstein - Arrivals And Departures
The Starting Line - Direction
Sum 41 - Underclass Hero
Saves The Day - Under The Boards
Good Charlotte - Good Morning Revival
MxPx - Secret Weapon
Release Date: July 9, 2007
Record Label: Sony BMG Canada
Choice Tracks: Nothing Special, The Fashion (Do Or Die) and N.T.F.
Review: All Day With It, the full-length debut by Toronto quartet illScarlett, is as gleamingly overwrought and damnably catchy as most of the angsty hard rock for suburbanites with which shoved illScarlett into the spotlight ten years ago.
