Missing the boat with a wishy washy album
New York based Just Surrender open their third album 'Phoenix' with what is one of the strongest tracks on the album, 'Through The Night'. Filled with hooky melodies and passionate, sing along lyrics, it shows just why this fivesome have a massive grassroots following.
Formed in 2003, Just Surrender have been a part of the American/Canadian punk rock scene for a while and are trading on the fact that's currently making a comeback. 'Take Me Home' and 'Jukebox Memories' tap into this style while adding the smoother melodic vocals that are more characteristic of the British pop punk scene.
There are moments of weakness on the album with 'Crazy' and 'Burning Up' coming across more like bad boy band pop than the strong emo-tinged punk they aspire to. 'Stronger Now' and 'Lose Control' start strong with their passionate, layered vocals, deep drum beats from Steve Miller and depth in Kyle Shellhammer's bass, but teeter precariously on the edge of becoming a bit High School Musical at times. 'Better To Leave' seems designed to show off the guitar skills of Dan Simons and Jolly Ubriaco. It's a neat song but missing the passion that they've captured in some of their other tracks.
There are some stand out moments with songs such as 'On My Own' where the strong beats and interchanging vocals, which are a feature of the album, come together perfectly and really shine and 'Carried Away' where they show a different side to their sound, a sweet little acoustic track that makes good use of strings to underline the light emotion.
Just Surrender have skillfully combined the vocal talents of Jason Maffucci and Simons and the way they utilise the dual vocals across the album is one of their strengths. They offer more variety within the album than most, but it's not quite enough to really make Just Surrender stand out from the plethora of pop/emo punk that saturates todays market.
They're unlikely to be a major player in the genre, but if you're looking for bands that sit somewhere between the light, early You Me At Six, later melodic Sum 41 and the Welsh Attack! Attack! then you're join to enjoy Just Surrender.