A somewhat uncomfortable feeling prevails as you read the track listing to ‘Popcorn & Cinemagic’. Every single song is named after a movie quote. This reeks of gimmick. Fortunately for Belgian band ARIZONA the gimmick ends there and the rest of the album proves to be solid enough.
Arizona plays a brand of music that falls somewhere between the bouncy pop-rock territories of Francesqa and You Me At Six, and the heavier post-rock turf of Young Guns and None The Less. It’s that highly-polished, neatly compacted style that has blown-up over the past few years or so. The main emphasis is on the lighter material, with breakdowns and gruff vocals being unleashed sparingly. ‘Stay Classy San Diego’ even appears as the album’s token acoustic/stripped-back number with a big finish.
For the most part ‘Popcorn & Cinemagic’ achieves what it sets out to, that being a presentation of practiced tunes big on tunefulness and choruses, with the odd heftier moment. It’s hardly original but then this is a genre that continues to pack ’em in without too much innovation. It’s interesting that the vocals are sung in perfect English, without the hint of an accent. Now that’s some good going.
Arizona proves to be a more than listenable entity without ever truly breaking the consciousness. If you’re a fan of the genre, preferring say Deaf Havana‘s later output as opposed to their hardcore roots, this is a record that should interest you. At the very least, it’s a well-produced, crisp release that suggests the band isn’t wasting its time.
ALEX HAMBLETON