Believe me, I do understand why CIWWAF are so highly regarded by their rabid fanbase, but for me they’re just a watered down version of a band like Boys Like Girls – and that’s really saying something. The band’s debut album, released on Fueled By Ramen, did well and picked up the band an energetic following; singer Shaant has a way with words as William Beckett and Pete Wentz do and clearly his wordsmithery appeals to a large number of people. There’s more of the same on ‘Rotation’ – infact the band are probably tighter and more compact than they were last time round, possibly due to the addition of Dave Mellilo who has helped to trim the fat and tighten up the choruses.
This record is heavily produced. If you don’t like made-for-radio pop-punk, weighted on the pop side of things, you won’t like this band. But then if the name didn’t put you off initially I’m guessing you’ll like them regardless – this type of music shouldn’t come as a surprise with a name like Cute Is What We Aim For. And cute is what they deliver; ‘Doctor’ sounds like a Boys Like Girls/All American Rejects cross while ‘Navigate Me’ is like Maroon 5 without the sexual arrogance. It is an unashamedly pop record written with teen girls throwing their bras at the band clearly in mind.
There are some reasonable songs here and taken for what it is ‘Rotation’ isn’t that bad – it’s a huge improvement on their last record, for instance. But it’s still very soulless and there’s very little difference between this band’s output and that of manufactured boy bands given guitars aimed at a young market. Some PT-ers will lap this up, but even as a lover of all things pop-punk this is even too sugary sweet for me.