We Are the Union

We Are the Union: Who We AreWho We Are (2007)
self-released

Reviewer Rating: 3.5

User Rating:

Contributed by: JeloneJelone
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on June 13th 2008Set Your Goals with horns. That's basically what We Are the Union's 2007 album Who We Are sounds like. And while it may seem belittling to pigeonhole them right off the bat, We Are the Union would probably be the first to admit it. I mean, they love to define themselves; it's right in the band and a.

Set Your Goals with horns. That's basically what We Are the Union's 2007 album Who We Are sounds like. And while it may seem belittling to pigeonhole them right off the bat, We Are the Union would probably be the first to admit it. I mean, they love to define themselves; it's right in the band and album names. The liner notes straight up list SYG as an influence, along with Lifetime, Rehasher and Big D and the Kids Table. Union even cribs a D line -- "Your allowance exceeds my rent" - for a song title. Regardless of the obvious reference points, though, Who We Are is a solid record, with an emphasis on putting melody in melodic skacore.

Of course, the ska elements are pretty basic in the mix. By which I mean, there's horns and a few traces of Jamaican rhythm here and there, such as on "These Colors Flee the Scene." We Are the Union really push for a more straight pop-punk/hardcore sound, an always tried 'n' true format. And they do it well. The choruses soar, the drums are punchy, the guitars are crunchy (but too crunchy) and the vocals are strong. Vocalist Reed Michael sometimes come off as a Patrick Stump stand-in, which might turn off those of us who deeply, deeply loathe Fall Out Boy. At the same time, though, both dudes have big ol' pipes, so I can't fault either of them for being able to belt it out.

Point is, Who We Are is fun. Catchy and quick, with a dash of posi and political connotations, these 11 songs will embed themselves deeper into your brainy bits than a Ceti eel from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. While the sound (and the overeager lyrics) may grow stale after too many spins, there's no denying the punch of "MTV Is Over, If You Want It" or album ender "Ourcore," which is essentially We Are the Union's version of SYG's "Echoes." With summer's official start a week away, Who We Are will make for an excellent seasonal spin.

Login to rate this album

People who liked this also liked:

Please login or register to post comments.What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?

Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

boy_eats_world (July 15, 2010)

WATU is way better than SYG, and personally, I don't think the 2 bands sound very similar at all. WATU reminds me of a faster, more melodic Less Than Jake with a few hardcore elements (gang vocals, breakdowns), and in one song, I believe it's "This is my life", the vocals kinda sound similiar to Millencolin. Who We Are is one of the best ska/punk/melodic hardcore albums I've ever heard.

Alien (March 20, 2010)

The cd is rad. it's a lot faster than set your goals I think though.

Everything_Went_Numb (December 9, 2009)

Just got this. I love it!!! Great shit.

highanxiety (April 27, 2009)

Musically it's impressive yet nothing new. Lyrically it's pretty awful.

thesidekicksuicide (July 1, 2008)

one of my favorite albums of last year

I hope I can catch them on tour

jmargs13 (June 26, 2008)

WATU Tour Video May 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3qyElEbk74

thatsyouth (June 17, 2008)

ok a 9 rating may have been a bit too much. 7 is better.

thatsyouth (June 17, 2008)

this is realllllly good

mrdogg45 (June 17, 2008)

I'm not going to listen to this record, I'm just happy to get a Wrath of Khan reference every now and again.

scarysmurf (June 14, 2008)

i just downloaded their whole album from their purevolume.

all i can say is i am extremly impressed.

MeeSTa3k (June 14, 2008)

As bummed as I am that this band will probably never open for me again, I'm stoked to see them find their sound and make their mark. They're just being who they are.

wearestillalive (June 14, 2008)

basically getting this based on the first line of the review.

pinkpenguin (June 14, 2008)

after reading "syg with horns" i had to check em out and this album is awesome... the whole album is posted for free on their purevolume page if you wanna listen...

shark-e (June 14, 2008)

This album seems to hit me in all the right places. Without me even noticing, five of their songs managed to creep into my 25 most played songs on iTunes. It's nothing I can pinpoint. There's nothing radically different about them, but what they do, they do very very well. It's a similar reaction I had to the Loved Ones' first full length... familiar structure, enticing delivery.

onegirlarmy (June 14, 2008)

Good record, very catchy! I dig this band.

superskabro (June 14, 2008)

P.S. Reed is NOTHING like Patrick Stump. What the fuck. Reed is somewhere in between Chris and Roger from LTJ. A perfect mix of the two, one would say. Easily my most listened-to album of the year, next to "Learn The Hard Way" b y the Copyrights and "Emotionalism" by The Avett Bros.

superskabro (June 14, 2008)

I give it a 9, only so that they have room to grow.
-Bobby Hill

MrStylson (June 13, 2008)

Really good pop/punk record.

no_face (June 13, 2008)

best album that came out in 2007

skapunk810 (June 13, 2008)

amazing album, amazing live show.....soooooooooooooooooooo good