If I never hear another “pop-punk” cd, I’ll be a happy camper. Let’s face it, the pop-punk thing has been way over saturated and what’s worst is it does seem to even have the mild diversity that mallcore had. (notice I speak of mallcore in the past tense, that might be presumptuous on my part but I think that trend is on its last legs).  One reason the market may be overblown with pop-punk is because it really does take much to put one of these groups together and throw out an album of the same ol’ same ol’ that Drive-Thru pushed down our throats last week, last month and last year. 

The reader needs to know the mindset of this reviewer and my opinions of the whole pop-punk trend before reading my take on this CD. 

The music: Pretty much standard pop-punk but with a little more dynamics that make it closer to punk than the incessant strumming of a single chord that most pop-punk bands use. No Blink-182 pop being disguised as punk here. Ok, they do fall for the pop-punk clichés but mix it up a little. 

The vocals: It has the patented sing through your nose quality about it. Nothing really distinct here to set this band apart from thousands of other pop-punk groups. 

The melodies: Here is where this band breaks a bit with the pack. Instead of ever song sounding like a rehashing of the same theme, these guys actually break it up a bit and try new things.  The best moment here come with the ballad “Mix Tape” where they have to break out of the box because you can’t rely on the standard pop-punk chords here. Even when the song breaks into the heavy stuff they don’t fall into the typical pop-punk thing.

The deal: Brandnew, aren’t really anything new. On the other hand, Brandnew isn’t exactly a clone of the typical pop-punk band either and the song writing is a notch above the competition with enough of an eye towards melody making to catch people attention. Pop-punk fans should find this disc enjoyable but it might not be punk enough for hardcore punk purists.  A worthy effort that is worth checking out if pop-punk is your thing.  

• Visit the Official website.
• Listen to samples and Purchase this CD online

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