With the release of Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!’s second album “Pardon My French”, fans can expect to hear the beloved pop-punk/hardcore band at its best.
The opening track “Restart” immediately brings listeners into the style of pop sung melodies followed by the rivaled heaviness of the sound that the band has come to master. This band has really proven that pop-punk and metalcore can be fluidly mixed at a happy medium, and in a more original way than most bands. The album reeks of an aura that can be compared to “Homesick” (A Day To Remember’s most popular album) only with a more creative spin to it. Songs like “Taking Chances” and “Between Your Lines” are perfect representations of the band and especially of this album.
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! takes the all too familiar sound of pop vocals with hardcore breakdowns to a more personal level on this album. The album’s eighth track “I Am Nothing Like You” gives an insight to the heavy side of the band. The song was not as intrusive as “Mr. Highway is Thinking About The End” was on A Day To Remember’s album “Homesick”, but it still has an impact that excites the listener for the rest of the album. The band also represents its versatility in the pop-punk genre with their song “So Close and Yet So Far”. This song shows a slightly softer side of the band that can be compared to a more intense and modern version of “I Miss You” by Blink-182.
Although the songs themselves are very good, this album does have its downfalls as a whole. The band created its pop-punk/hardcore sound from its first album “Something for Nothing” and the new release seems to follow too closely in its footsteps. Even though a definite progression can be heard overall, it seems the band played it safe with this album. They stayed close to the pop structured songs, catchy melodies, and punk verses that can be heard on almost every single song on both of their albums.
In the end, this album is a very good representation of the band but doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Considering that this is only the band’s sophomore album, not much else can be expected. Many bands will stick to what has worked in the past when it comes to releasing new material. For fans of the band, this album will be highly praised as it only reinforces the Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!’s definitive style. But for listeners that may not have liked the band’s first album, there really isn’t anything new to hear. It is more of a continuation of the pop-punk/hardcore style than a new revolutionary take on the well known genre.
Rating 7.5/10