Pensive

The ignorance that some bands possess is absolutely annoying. Pensive is the perfect example of the point I wish to make. They proudly cite Green Day, Blink-182 and the Offspring as influences to their pop-punk sound. Could it get anymore formulaic than by choosing three of the biggest names in modern punk to credit a unique sound to? The band’s bio also boasts that they’re bringing a new note to the genre, which I’m still having a difficult time to find throughout the twenty minutes of simplistic pop-punk.

Small potential hits midway through the opener, “The 3rd of July,” as a crunchy guitar breakdown that had to be influenced by producer and ex-Fenix TX front man Will Salazar. The fun stops there as the subsequent five tracks slip into a realm of pop-punk that’s been done and done and done and done again. The producers influence is directly felt on “I’m Still About You” again, as rubs off easily as a scrapped track from the defunct pop-punk group. Not everything is cheating off their peers sitting next to them though; the quartet has a tune sung almost completely in Spanish. Vocalist Julio Godoy encloses talent in his vocal chords; the skill is regrettably wasted trying to carry a band that refers to themselves as “Madd Hott.”

With song titles like “January Embers” and “Stare at the Stars” on an album titled Something About the Stars… it’s way too obvious what ground this band is treading on. Unfortunately they do not execute anything remotely pivotal on this lackluster self-released debut EP.