To the Lonely Hearts

Making the sort of naïve, wide-eyed punk rock that has made many careers around the turn of the century, this poppy four-piece give it their all on To the Lonely Hearts. The problem with this sort of music is the "gee golly" attitude taken by the musicians, which is charming at first but quickly develops into a massive chore to put up with. The gimmick of the album is that every song is a tribute to a girl, but with lyrics like "Your deep brown eyes delight me once more, with your sweet smelling laughter," it becomes obvious that this has the emotional depth of a teenager's diary. In a way, that is fine, because this music appeals to that age range far more than any adult. But it seems a shame to unleash such generic lyrics on a generation of adolescents, especially when the actual music freely borrows from superior acts like All and Pennywise. There are a few bearable tracks, notably the title track and "Anchor." Both songs thrive on the band's energy, one of their strongest points. This may appeal to genre fans, especially the younger listeners, but this is ultimately an album filled with simplistic fluff that sounds like a hundred other bands.