Punchline "37 Everywhere" (Fueled by Ramen)
By Nathan Blaney
Monday. May 08, 12:31 AM
Pick up some albums by the bands they’re influenced by instead.

If 37 Everywhere was the first release from Punchline, I’d be tempted to say something along the lines of “good start, but I’d like to see what they mature into…” That’s not gonna happen here, though. It seems these guys have been around a while, and certainly long enough to realize how derivative this album sounds. Did they call up guys from Boxcar Racer, Samiam, and Yellowcard and ask for their leftover song ideas? Because that’s what it sounds like: stuff that, despite being decently written and well recorded, just wasn’t good enough for the real album. You might think something like this would sound okay, maybe along the lines of REM’s Dead Letter Office… but not really. It’s like when you go to a bar and the cover band of the evening decides to thrill you with one of their “originals”: you probably don’t hate it, but you’re sure as heck not gonna run out and buy it.

I’m also wondering about the amount of effort put into the album art / packaging / website. Seems like more effort was put into these areas, as they are actually more interesting than the album itself… although I don’t understand how the style relates to the music or the band. It looks like they simply had an artist friend and wanted to include him somehow… doesn’t really work, though.

So, if you’re already into this band, maybe 37 Everywhere will appeal to you… but my advice would be to pick up some albums by the bands they’re influenced by instead. You’ll see what I mean.
www.punchkids.com
www.fueledbyramen.com

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Nathan Blaney

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