Glasshead

I’m going to just flat out say it: If you don’t like New School Records other acts, walk away.

If you do like the above my guess is you sat down with me. Now onto the review... Glasshead is a band best compared to Goldfinger with their radio rock sounds. They hail from Vancouver and from what I understand have one hell of a live show

Fans of pop-punk music will know what to expect here: catchy choruses -- that’s the key to all pop-punk records. In fact, this record even has catchy choruses in subpar songs. The guitar work isn’t complex, it’s kind of space-sounding and adds a bit of a unique flavor to the songs. The drumming compliments each song correctly and the tempo for each song flows. It’s pretty much what you would expect from an album of this musical nature.

There is one minor exception, and it's with the last song. Guess what it is...no, no I can wait…. Done? It’s an acoustic song! The song is called “Ocean” and is different than other end-of-the-record acoustic songs. It was actually put together with much class; the song has a combination of acoustic guitars, piano and a violin. You can get a feel that the band is more than just beating drums and plucking strings as they can mix more classical instruments into songs.

Lyrically, well, the album is once again everything you’d expect. Songs about summer ("Wasted Summer") and girls (take your pick). Still, the lyrics feel real and emotional so you can’t take that away from them. Granted, sometimes they are a little silly or dull -- you can look at the song “Peachfuzz” with a glaring eye if you’d like. They show off their writing talents in the song “Deadair” and create a Lawrence Arms-ish (yes, I said Lawrence Arms on a Punknews review, shoot me) line with "I can’t remember how to remember." Not that I’m saying that line makes the whole song but I think that it shows a little more clever side of the band. They may not have the most sophisticated or new lyrics in the world but tied with the great tune in your head you’ll be bouncing around and singing along in no time.

I’m not saying this is record of the year or even a record that’s going to change everything. It’s really just a fun record pulled off with some professional attitudes, pretty good lyrics and choruses that can make you sway or bounce, and in the end isn’t that what a pop-punk fan wants?

Best of the Best:

• Bullet
• Hydrophobic Mermaid
• Words That Kill
• Charger `74
• Deadair
• Ocean