With Allister, you know exactly what you are going to get – catchy, no frills pop-punk with hooks, melodies, harmonies and everything else in between. One of the older-skool Drive Thru bands (and one of the only ones that haven’t split or flown the nest), the Chicago popsters are back with their third full-length, which is effectively more of the same as what we have come to expect from the band. ‘Before the Blackout‘ has singalong choruses by the dozen, and although it’s probably not as good, on the whole, as the last record. True, there’s a newfound sense of songwriting maturity and some of the tracks have a darker edge – both in songwriting and production terms – but for me this record is overshadowed by releases like Houston Calls and Valencia.
Allister don’t tend to vary from the straight and narrow pop-punk formula they’ve almost patented in the last few years. ‘A Lotta Nerve‘ and ‘Rewind’ have really catchy hooks that will sucker you in, but then that’s what we have come to expect from the band in recent years. The latter is possibly the new ‘Somewhere on Fullerton’ and could become the group’s signature tune. But all too often the band tread down a familiar path and you’re left wondering whether you’ve heard the song before. ‘2am’ is a bit bland (and sounds a little Busted-esque), while ‘Blackout’ just comes across as generic. If you have liked the previous Allister material then it’s almost certain you will like the new record. But for me it doesn’t cut the mustard for some of the other recent releases from their peers and it could mean Allister are left behind in their blackout…
www.allisterrock.com
Drive Thru
Paul