I really enjoyed the last Every Avenue album and still dig it out for a few spins every now and then. It was what Cartel‘s second album should have been – a record full of hooks and melodic singalongs. On album number 2 Every Avenue have something to live up to and the good news for everyone is that they not only match that first record, they actually exceed it. The choruses are bigger, the melodies are bigger, the hooks are bigger. Everything album this album sounds bigger and better.
Sure, in a sense it’s obvious pop-punk stuff but done so well it’s hard not to singalong with gusto. As with most bands in this genre, the slower songs tend to be the worst and this record is no different. When the band slow things down they get boring and predictable and ultimately I found myself skipping through. But these tracks are few and far between – the first four or five are fantastic, the title track one of the best – and so you can forgive them for the odd dud.
Overall this is great stuff. It has everything you would a) expect and b) need from a pop-punk record. And that’s all you can ask for. Top stuff.