Socratic

Spread The Rumours

Written by: PP on 02/06/2008 04:42:19

New Jersey, US based pop punkers Socratic are a perfect fit for the pop punk oriented roster of Drive-Thru Records. Fittingly to the reputation of the label, the band are considerably more pop than punk, kind of in the same way as Cartel was deemed ultra poppy already on their debut album while still maintaining a debatable pop punk connection at the same time.

So \"Spread The Rumours\" is their sophomore album and it does little to try to distinguish itself from its peers; it\'s light and simple, but still enjoyable pop punk leaving you with a summery feeling overall. The track \"May I Bum A Smoke?\" sums up the theme and vibe of the album nicely: \"what happened to the good time music, i don\'t wanna sing about dark things\".

So although the album sounds like your typical generic pop punk album with infectious riffs and catchy choruses (and to an extent, that\'s true) to accompany you on a leisurely stroll on the beach, it still somehow manages to sound deeper than it actually is. This is helped by the classical piano, which is injected in heavy doses on some tracks, whilst on others it merely works as a backing instrument. When the piano is at its loudest, the songs get a little bit of character, marking pretty much the only point where Socratic differ from their genre colleagues - they sound more pop (if that\'s possible).

But even here, the shadow of Cartel\'s debut album feels overwhelming. Socratic may be sillier lyrically than them (see \"Long Distance Calls\"), but the fact of the matter is that Cartel was just THAT much better at doing precisely the same thing. While \"Boy In A Magazine\" certainly works as a candidate for the summer song of this year, far too many songs have a forgettable chorus and/or boring instrumentals.

That being said, \"Spread The Rumours\" is still likely to be among your favorite summery pop punk albums this year. Whether that\'s because none of the genre heavyweights are releasing anything this summer or because their songs really DO have lasting value, remains to be seen.

6

Download: Boy In A Magazine, May I Bum A Smoke?
For the fans of: Cartel, Houston Calls, The Early November
Listen: Myspace

Release date 06.05.2008
Drive-Thru Records

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