The After Party - Kansas
If you detest the likes of the Jonas Brothers, Allstar Weekend and Big Time Rush, you might want to leave now and resume your crossword. The After Party are the latest Disney-esque teeny-bopper band; their latest release Kansas is sure to induce light-headedness in many a teenage girl.
The sugary, summery and cheeky Waste the Day is ridiculously irresistible; even the most stubborn of heavy-metal fans will find it hard not to dance along to this. Admittedly, I was expecting something slightly cheesier than "Sometimes you gotta let go / life's too fast, take it slow", so I was rather impressed. A Better Me, a light-heartedly scathing love song, is another sure-to-be hit that will have you singing along shamelessly. The chorus ("Fuck this, I'm done / trying to be what you want") adds a playful element to the EP and almost makes you want to stick your middle finger up to the world.
The antics continue with the appetising She's Gotta Boyfriend, a dance-pop affair scrumptiously speckled with guitar. The lyrics are admittedly borderline cheesy ("She's the kinda girl that makes me weak / whenever I'm around her I can't speak"), but luckily, these guys appear to have the ability to pull it off.
The slow, syrupy and swaying number Still Got Love brings the up-tempo jams to a halt, however, and the mewling of "If we still got love" is worthy of the Jonas Brothers (I'll let you decide whether or not that's a bad thing). The melancholic Here Comes the Rain and the sweetly reminiscent Unforgettable Nights also follow in the tracks of the sugar-coated Still Got Love, and will undoubtedly have girls swooning left, right and centre.
If you've got a sweet tooth for tasty and mouth-watering pop-rock hits then this is definitely worth your time. In short, Kanas is sunny, sharp and succulent; love it or hate it, it looks like these guys are here to stay.