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Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!

Get Lost, Find Yourself

Written by: MAK on 21/07/2015 16:36:11

French easycore outfit Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! Have returned in time to deliver a soundtrack primed for the summer with “Get Lost, Find Yourself”. Riding the wake of success of Four Year Strong and A Day To Remember, Chunk! seem to have gotten the hang of this pop-punk and hardcore mix that has been ever so popular over the last six years.

“Get Lost, Find Yourself” is their second album through Fearless Records. It differs from its 2013 predecessor “Pardon My French” quite a bit; that album sounded more like a chirpy metalcore album in contrast to "Get Lost, Find Yourself"'s pop-punk feel with much fewer breakdowns included. While it just seems to be following the trend of what’s popular at the moment, this style definitely works better for the Parisian quintet. It’s not to say that the heaviness has disappeared completely, it is rather sparsely used in the right places, while the infectiously catchy pop-punk hooks dominate the album.

Opening track and first single for the album “Playing Dead” opens up with very crunchy distorted riffs on top of a bouncy beat played out by new drummer Bastien Lafaye, then in comes vocalist Bert Poncet with clean singing vocals that strongly emulate New Found Glory’s Jordan Pundik in both style and sound for the verse. The subtle additions of Poncet's harsher vocals and some heavier riffs thrown in mix fantastically within the chorus. “Playing Dead” shows signs that Chunk! are maturing to become better songwriters, producing longer lasting fun anthems instead of just pit starters and songs to get a crowd jumping.

Follow up song “City Of Light” and the more recent single “The Other Line” follow the same set trend of punchy easycore anthems that can stand any test of time and become live favourites for years to come. Standout, if somewhat cliché chants of “Can’t Stop Us Now” and “We Won’t Back Down” in “City Of Light” will emphasize with any listener wanting to make their mark known to the world and encourage that sense of needing to stand for something, whereas “The Other Line” pushes the easy-listening pop punk/punk style into the forefront for everyone to take notice. This could be the song that launches the French lads into stardom, a perfectly written infectious pop punk song that will have crowds singing right back at them, and create that goosebump feeling when the “wayyaaaayyyys” bits kick in.

“What Goes Around”, “Worst Case Scenario” and most of the back-end of the album thrive off being pure pop punk numbers with the majority of them coming straight off the New Found Glory playbook. In fact you’d be forgiven in thinking it is NFG from an initial listen. The cheerful melodies make you think of pool parties, beach drinks and fun in general. The irresistible gang vocal “woah”'s sum up the fact that Chunk! want to transfer this more fun side of them to a live environment, they are daring us not to join in on singing along. Title track “Get Lost, Find Yourself” had to fall into the predictable inspiring acoustic song mould that most modern pop punk bands feel they need to throw in, and you can almost imagine the “this one is for the ladies in the crowd” line right before they perform this tune.

“Get Lost, Find Yourself” is a massive step up for Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!. It's a far more enjoyable listen than any previous release and definitely more impressive than I expected it to be. This could be the real breakthrough album for the French lads. While pop punk and easycore fans have heard most of this album before in the forms of other bands and songs, Chunk! keep the genres exciting push their popularity even further into the limelight. Expect this album to elevate Chunk! further up festival bills and into some bigger venues over the next couple of years.

Download: Playing Dead, City Of Light, Worst Case Scenario
For The Fans Of: A Day To Remember, New Found Glory, Four Year Strong, As It Is, ROAM
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 18.05.2015
Fearless Records